Pieces of an Angel
by YinYangSisters
Summary: He was but a simple assassin, with a hazy memory of a girl with wings covered in blood. But somehow, the girl with blood covered wings and the payed killer accidently meet. AxC AU
1. Chapter 1

Alright guys; here is another big fic for you. I think the one shots have done their job; I'm itching to write a big story like my previous one. And this is a little different to what I would usually write...the idea came to me randomly one day, and I just want to try this out.

I hope you all enjoy this; I'm a bit unsure and unconfident of the plot. But your support from last time was amazing...it would be great if I could have that again? The feedback I got really made me more confident, and pushed me to take more risks, hence, I'm writing this.

Okay, so here's the prologue for you; It might leave you thinking..."Err...what?" but I promise...it will make sense as the story goes on.

Thanks for any of you taking the time to read this; I bet these stupid Author's Notes are annoying, huh? :) I'll try to keep them short for following chapters...

So, here we go.

Please read and review.

- Yin

I DO NOT OWN GUNDAM SEED/GUNDAM SEED DESTINY

* * *

**Pieces of an Angel **

_Kira is late again. _

_Through Athrun's 13 years of living, he had never met someone more unpunctual than Kira. Late for school, late for lessons, late for parties, late for dentist appointments, late for absolutely everything he can think of. Yet, he gets away with it; just like he knows he will now. _

_The only thing that makes Athrun a bit more mellow, is the weather. Spring is innocently obvious; cherry blossom trees blooming, blowing trails of pale pink kisses around it. The grass is almost a highlighter green colour, abnormally healthy this year. The sky fades from a baby blue to a pale one, and clouds seem to mask anything unpleasant that Athrun knows is not there. _

_This has always been the young boy's favourite place, along with his best friend Kira's. This is where they would meet to just be themselves; after all, school was never easy. The constant pressure to be accepted by everyone was too apparent there. So, on weekends or summer afternoons, the boys would meet to be just...the young boys they are.  
_

_This is the way the emerald eyed boy likes it; innocent and untainted. _

_He had always loved the simplicity of innocence. That was probably why he loves this small park. Just a tree, some grass, a swing and woods at the back. The pureness of it makes him feel safe, calm, hopeful. _

_Athrun can't help but smile as he sees two birds fly together. They fly as if they are made for each other, so beautifully and- _

_Athrun hears heavy panting, and his head snaps back down. He looks across the small park, suddenly in a panic. The pants are too heavy for children who are just running, or for adults who just go for a jog. It sounds so desperate, so in pain, so afraid. _

_His eyes lock to figure; it's a girl. _

_'A girl?" He thinks, emerald eyes widening. 'Why is a girl breathing like that? She looks my age so how is it possible that-'_

_Athrun unintentionally hisses, due to the sharp breath that he sucked in; blood. Blood is all over her. Leaking heavily through the hand clamped over her mouth, down her nose. The peachy skin of her arm has blood smeared up it. _

_And then, his gleaming eyes of fear lay upon her back. Through her green t-shirt, blood is seeping through; turning the ends of her shoulder length golden, blonde hair crimson and rusty. It trails from her lower back, down her jeans shorts and tights, leaving a trail of red on the grass as she stumbles through to the woods.  
_

_Athrun is shaking. What is wrong with her? What is wrong with her body? Is she sick? Will she live? _

_"HEY!" Athrun calls, standing up from the swings. "ARE YOU OKAY?" _

_The girls head snaps to him, and he can see her glistening amber eyes. They shine golden as the sun hits them, and he is entranced. Even with the crimson tips of hair stuck to her face, her now exposed mouth, gushing blood down her chin..._

_She is beautiful. Immaculate. And to think, he can't even see that well, can't even make out the blue print of her face, but she is still so **beautiful **that he cannot deny it and- _

_And she starts to run; farther and farther away. He can hear her grunts of agony, as her hand clutches her mouth again, and the blood leaves a heavier trail on the grass. She is moving surprisingly fast, doing everything she can to get into those woods; probably to hide herself. _

_'But she'll die,' Athrun thinks in a panic. 'She will surely die from blood loss. I can't just leave her.' _

_"HEY WAIT!" Athrun yells again, running to her._

_The girl's head snaps again, and she moves faster, in a hurried attempt to get away from him. Her free hand reaches out to grab the branch of a tree, and it snaps. She grunts, silently cursing herself. There is no way that flimsy tree could've supported her weight; now there is traces left of her blood.  
_

_"NO, WAIT!" Athrun yells. "DON'T RUN!" _

_But she is in the woods, and in a flash so is he. But she isn't in front of him anymore. Athrun is dumbfounded, but he continues to run, searching for her. He prays to God that he doesn't know he believes in, that he will find her, that he will save her. _

_But he hears her scream; it is so deafening, so agonizngly in pain, that he almost freezes.  
_

_"HEY! WHERE ARE YOU?" He calls desperatley, as he turns through trees, forest green eyes dancing in eagerness. "HEY!" _

_He sees some blonde in the far distance, and his heart leaps with joy, and his legs leap faster as they run to it. Athrun was never much of a runner, but it looks like he is, as he darts through thin trees to that ray of blonde that he knows now, is on the floor. _

_Trees shroud her, and he can barely see her, as he tries to fight through. "Hey! Are you alright?" _

_He twists round one last tree, and his body freezes. He is sure that his heart has skipped a beat, at the sight before him. His body shakes, cold sweat is prickling his pale, clear skin, as well as the goosebumps, and the hairs that stand up on his arms and the back of his neck._

_Her knees are together on the floor, her back hunched over. Her head is bent, and her golden hair falls to cover he face. Blood drips from he knows is her mouth and nose, onto her knees, where her tights have ripped. But the most shocking sight is not her lifelss body crumpled on the earth he stands on. _

_It is the enormous wings, with blood tipped feathers on the end that have exploded from her back. _

_Athrun lets out a whimper, and he is too petrified to move. He is too scared to think, to act, to comprehend what is in front of him. His eyes travel from her hunched body, to the green t-shirt that is sticky and filled with blood, to the large wings, both the size of at least one car that have ripped its way through her back._

_But before he can say anything, ask anything, even yell and run away in terror, her head lifts up. Emerald eyes quiver, and his body is now visibly shaking. The smell of her blood fills his nostrils, along with the scent of the fresh trees surrounding them both. _

_And once her head lifts up, there is only one thing that Athrun Zala is sure of. _

_She is undeniably, soul wrenchingly and painstakingly beautiful. _

_Her eyes look tired and dead, as the look up to see his fearful ones. Neither of them move, they just stare. Emerald stares into gold, as gold stares into emerald. No names are exchanged. No speech whatsoever. Just the fear that runs through Athrun's veins. _

_Her lips twitch, and she smiles at him. _

_Athrun sucks in another sharp breath, because suddenly, they are unbelievably close. Their noses are bumping, and they can smell each other past her blood, past the trees, past the grass, past the smell of innocent spring. Because nothing is innocent now, as her blood stains the pale pink cherry blossoms. _

_As she looks into him, he knows she is looking further. She is looking past the face that all the other girls adored, past the emerald green eyes that make other girls swoon, past the perfect unblemished skin, right down to his quivering soul. _

_Then, she looks again. At his perfect face, his un-scarred skin. Beautiful eyes. _

_He strains to hear her voice; it is so quiet, so gentle. She looks at him again, and catches him glance at her wings. And she bites her crimson lips gently as she smiles, their lips so close together, they can feel each other warmth. _

_"Shh," she says again. "Don't tell." _

_Athrun is has no time to gasp, because she lifts her chin, so that their lips brush together for maybe a moment, a second, an hour. Days? He doesn't know, but he...likes it? Wants...more? _

_A sudden rush of a painfully strong wind whips his body, so that he is on his back groaning in pain. And by the time he hurries to get up, hisses, as his soft skin scratches the leftover pieces of bark bellow, she is gone. And so is her blood. _

_The only proof that Athrun has of her very existence, is the speck of her blood on his lips._

_

* * *

_

Reviews are needed urgently...I have a feeling you will either like this, or hate it.

Thanks for reading. Stay tuned!

- Yin


	2. Chapter 1  'Petals of Nothing'

Second chapter...hopefully this will make a bit more sense than the last..._hopefully! _:)

Please review!

- Yin

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN GUNDAM SEED/GUNDAM SEED DESTINY

* * *

**Chapter 1 **

** Petals of Nothing **

Athrun rubs his forehead, and an emerald eye peeps at his alarm clock as it beeps annoyingly.

**6:00am**

God, he hates the military. **  
**

He groans loudly, and pulls the soft maroon duvet covers over his head, turning his back against the alarm clock. He knows that today is Mission Day; a day when a target has been set to kill, and he must go and do it. He is one of the military's strengths, something they pride upon.

Though, Athrun shouldn't be moaning; his is the job that all his lower ranking friends wish for. The days in which he is given targets have no correlation. Sometimes, he has 4 a month, on another occasion, he had none for an entire year.

He didn't know why; for the life of him, he didn't. He didn't know why he was just killing these people. All he knew was that this person was wanted dead, and he was being paid too much for it. But it wasn't his fault. This was just something that he was good at, something his father had found he had a knack for while watching him train for once.

Maybe it was the thrill of it all; not being caught, sneaking through those dark corridors, sedating those guards who really did not help for enforcement whatsoever. Catching your target off guard, maybe? Or just the plan; deactivate this, trigger that, leap to this room, disable cameras in another.

All he did know, was that he didn't like the feeling of plunging a dagger into his targets chest; it was kind of like cutting an apple, really. Not of much importance, not much feeling. Not much to think about. But Yzak, on his team, was completely different.

Athrun chuckles into his pillow, as he thinks of his hot headed friend.

So stressful, that platinum blonde. So..._loud. _Nothing like Nicol. Nicol is much like him, though a year younger, at the tender age of 15. He shouldn't be here, Athrun knows. He shouldn't be on their team, he is far too young.

_"Who are you to talk, Athrun?" _he thinks.

And he is right; an assassin at 16? Living on your own? Working so young? It's not right, he knows, but it doesn't bother him. It is his burden to bare, not someone else's. And it isn't his problem if someone else _does _care, because they shouldn't.

Dearka would pat him on the back if he heard him think like that; he had always said he was too soft. Probably softer than Nicol. Most definately, actually. But that is not his fault either; this is the way his mother raised him, this is the way he is, this is _who_ he is.

"Mother..." He speaks softly, glancing up at the framed picture of her and him on his bedside table.

2 years, 10 months, and 2 weeks and counting, since Lenore Zala died. Athrun tries not to think about it, but he does at this minute; it is proven as his perfect navy eyebrows furrow. Some idiotic, cruel, sadistic, _sick _bastard who was driving when he clearly was not sober, had crashed into her.

Athrun sighs; he needs his mother now. At 16, this is something that he dares not to say, but it is as true as the sad flicker in his eyes. He needs his mother; he needs her to pull his duvet away from him at this moment, and make him burnt pancakes and straighten out his hair just as he is about to walk out the door to work, already half an hour late.

His face burys in his maroon pillow case that matches the covers.

"Mum..."

He can see her smiling in his mind. The dimple on the left side of her mouth that he had inherited, the natural smell of her lavender scent, the way her teeth would gritt, and her nose would crinkle before she would yell at him for something.

And suddenly, Athrun is jumping out of his bed, grabbing a towel as he locks himself in his bathroom for a cold shower. He wants to wash away memories, and he wants the tears in his eyes to suddenly evapourate into nothing.

But what he also wanted was for her to see him at university, because he orignally wanted to study engineering, not this. He wanted her to make him chicken soup when he is sick, and give him a head massage until he falls asleep, because that was her speciality. He wanted her to embarass him like hell by showing his baby pictures to his fiancee one day, to spoil his children rotten, to ramble on about things that happened at work, that he really couldn't care less about.

Athrun is rubbing the shampoo into his scalp harder as he tries to forget, and blames the gooey substance for the prickling in his eyes.

* * *

"Athrun! You're early!" Nicol says, as he walks into the room.

"Yeah; usually you don't get here 'till 7:30am. What changed, Zala?" Yzak says with his mouth full of toast.

"Leave the poor guy alone!" Dearka cries, swinging an arm around Athrun's shoulder. "I bet you were with a girl, and you wanted to get rid of her early, huh Athrun?"

"No, Dearka; I'm not as sick as you." Athrun says, as he slides out of Dearka's grasp.

For some reason, Athrun was hoping for a change, but everything looks the same; the computors and its wires camoflaging the floor to the point where you don't know what you're stepping on anymore. The large room is dark, with its technichains filling any kind of empty space.

The only thing that hinted any kind of normal human existence is the small round table with basic breakfast essentials on it for Athrun and his team; the staff are always kind enough to do so, though Athrun didn't know if this was because they were just young boys, or that his father was an important military leader. It bothered him a bit more than it should of, but Athrun shakes it off as he pours himself a glass of milk.

_"Milk is good for bones, Athrun!" _his mother would say. _"And it's good for smiles, too!_" She is right, Athrun knows. Medically speaking, calcium is a massively important part of your body, and how much you contain at his age will decifer your health as you age onwards and-

But Athrun hates it; its heavy, and the smell makes him sick, especially when it's warm, and the after taste is so unbearable that at one point, he just gives up and holds his nose. Athrun hates milk, yet he finds himself, everyday, drinking a glassful every morning, his face frowning every time.

It was just his way of making up for it; though it was a stupid way to do so, if you ask him. It's just to make up for not going with her to the grocery store himself, instead of declining and studying for a physics exam that he knew he would ace anyway.

"Helloooo?" Nicol says in Athrun's blank face as he stares at his milk. "Earth to Athrun!"

"Aahh!" Athrun jumps, blinking rapidly before letting out a quick apology.

"No worries," Nicol says, smiling his sweet smile. "I just want to let you know about something."

"Yeah, something regarding the mission." Yzak finished for him, staring sternly at us. "Your father wanted us to tell you that we aren't assassinating in this mission."

Athrun tilted his head to the side, confused. Kidnap missions don't come often, but when they do, he is never good at them. It was never a problem when it was just taking out your target; there is not much skill, other than the one to cover up your tracks, that was needed. But kidnapping is completely different; you need to be harsh, firm and unreasonable.

And it is fact that Athrun Zala is the complete opposite of this.

And on top of all this, there is a screaming victim to take care of; his father, for some reason, never allows them to be sedated. So the four boys have to live with someone screaming in the back of their van, maybe even right next to them, for hours and hours on end.

Athrun groans, as he sinks lower in his chair, and lazily finishes off his milk. "It's not a girl, is it?"

"We don't know," Dearka says carelessly, spreading jam on his toast. "But hey, maybe we should hope it is!"

"No way, Dearka," Athrun says firmly. "I'm not about to let you get caught up or gain interest with a target. It could ruin the whole mission!"

Dearka pouts, even growls a little, though Athrun knows he has won when he shoves a piece of toast in his mouth. He is right, of course. Jeaprodizing a whole mission just because there's a pretty girl involved? How ridiculous!

"Besides," Athrun adds. "We are known for our precision and simplicity. We won't just wreck the Joule Team for some girl who is probably going to die anyways."

**_(Flashback) _**

_He strains to hear her voice; it is so quiet, so gentle. She looks at him again, and catches him glance at her wings. And she bites her crimson lips gently as she smiles, their lips so close together, they can feel each other warmth. _

_"Shh," she says. "Don't tell." _

_Athrun is has no time to gasp, because she lifts her chin, so that their lips brush together for maybe a moment, a second, an hour. Days? He doesn't know, but he...likes it? Wants...more? _

_**(End of Flashback) **_

Athrun hisses, shaking his head roughly, a little too roughly. That girl; why hasn't he forgotten her? Her blood soaked back, her enormous, powerful wings, her golden hair with the ends dipped in crimson, her skin, _flawless_ skin, with those eyes of hers...

Those amber eyes.

"I need the bathroom." Athrun says quickly.

His chair scraped hurriedly as he walks briskly to the door, not that his friends noticed much.

He locked himself in the small bathroom, and gripped the sides of the basin as he stared intensly into the mirror. It was a dream; it had to be. A girl covered in blood with wings that grew out of her back? Impossible. Scientifically speaking, there is nothing of the sort; every fact that has contributed to the theory of evoloution states-

"An angel?"

Athrun doesn't realize he is talking, until he sees his lips move. But even that is impossible; angels are holy and innocent. They are clean, and play beautiful instruments like harps, pianos, organs. Angels are grown adults in their prime, with _white_ wings, not grey ones like hers, and-

"Grey wings?"

He is right, again. That girl...that bleeding girl; she had grey wings, like a birds. Not an angels. And the tips were covered in blood. And her hair, her skin, her clothes, even her smell, even her aura, even those-

"Amber eyes..."

Athrun, this time, bangs his fist hard down on the basin. Enough of this foolishness.

Angels are not young teenage girls whose body bleeds because of strain. They are not young, beautiful teenage girls whose body holds the power of flight and strength. They are not young, beautiful, _radiant _teenage girls, who don't play an instrument, and do not wear white robes. They are not young, beautiful, radiant, _immaculate_ teenage girls who kiss you for some strange reason that you cannot see, leaving her _blood_ on your-

Athrun only realizes now, that he is touching his lips.

* * *

"Jeez, Athrun!" Yzak cries. "You come in _early _for once, and now you are late because you lock yourself in the bathroom for over 10 minutes!"

"S-sorry," Athrun says hurriedly, straightening his hair. "Did I miss anything important?"

"Nah, Yzak was just messing with you." Dearka smirks at Athrun while he lets out a breath. "But it is a little strange for a 16 year old boy to lock himself in the bathroom for over ten minutes when all he's had is a glass of milk..."

"Hah! Well not _that _strange!" Yzak says."

Athrun shakes his head while Dearka and Yzak laugh. "You guys are disgusting."

"Yes, you all are very immature."

The four boys turn to see Patrick Zala standing at their doorway, in that prideful stance of his, with a couple of guards on either side of him. The boys stiffen, and are suddenly standing straight and saluting him.

"Good morning, Commander!"

"Stand down," Patrick says lazily, and the boys do so. "I want to make this quick, I have a lot of appointments today."

"Yes, sir!"

Patrick walks to a computer, where a technician is already waiting patiently, and the boys follow. Athrun keeps calm and neutral outside, but inside he is dying to know; a girl, or a boy? Such simple information will decipher his entire mission. A girl; small smirks, giggles over nothing funny, fainting when there is nothing medically wrong, and talking to him with that low voice that he is positive is not her natural one.

A boy; an easy ride, not much to deal with. Maybe even a stroppy and stubborn one. One that will shut up the entire journey because he knows that 4 against 1 to him is not the best odds. Not the best at all, especially when they are skilled killers.

"Here is the bio of the girl," Patrick says, and Athrun dies inside. "Her name is Cagalli Yula Attha. She is the niece of Uzumi Nara Attha, the current Chief Representative for the Neutral Union of Orb; we want some information on him, and she will be the easiest to kidnap and easiest to ask."

The boys nod, urging Patrick to continue; they need her background. Who she lives with, her parents, their occupations, times in which they are in and not in the house, location, neighbourhood, other relatives, most importantly, siblings, who could be a massive threat to the mission. The list goes on.

"Her parents died when she was young, and Uzumi used to be her guardian, but for some reason, she chose to move out and live on her own at 15," He explains. "She also has a twin brother, who she was separated from at birth. They are very close, and they meet around once a month. Their meeting for this month has already past, so the chances of seeing him there are small."

Athrun looks at her bio:

**Name: **Cagalli Yula Attha

**Sex: **Female

**Age: **16 Years old

**Weight:** 54 Kg (approx. 120 lb)

**Height: **162cm (approx. 5'3")**  
**

"As you know, you are not aloud to sedate her; don't beat her either. I want her in good condition when she comes here. She will be questioned, and depending on what we decide at the time, she will either be killed here, or we will give her back to Uzumi, and she will be sent back. I know that this may invite some bad press, but the limelight will be stolen by Uzumi. If he says anything, his secret will be spilled."

"Exuse me, fa-" Athrun speaks, but realizes his mistake and covers it up quickly. "_Captain_, but, what research? Why is that we are kidnapping her? What is it that we have to question her for, sir?"

"Well, it is none of your business, but if you _must _know," Patrick says sternly. "Uzumi is doing some kind of research of people, and this girl is a massive part of that, as sources tell us. She is key to finding out what it is that Uzumi is studying or investigating."

Athrun nods slowly, and looks back at her bio.

"This is her," A technician says, scrolling down to her picture. "Too bad, she's real pretty, huh?"

Athrun heart stops, and his stance falls. He steps back and quickly shuts the jaw he has just dropped as his eyebrows furrow. His three teamates look at him with worry and confusion as bewilderment and confusion stains Athrun's face.

It is her; with her golden hair, her now more pronounced, even more beautiful body. Her flawless skin, arms lightly sprinkled with freckles like he remembers. He expression surprised yet half smiling, as she holds on to a red jewled necklace she is wearing out of surprise. She is even more beautiful, as the wind pushes her blonde hair so that thick strands lick her face. Her features so intracat, so delicate, so radiant-

And he knows for certain that it is her.

Those amber eyes that haunt him are as bright as ever, the fire within them enticing him with its beauty.

* * *

Okay...so here's chapter 1; I started this the same day I wrote the prologue, because I just couldn't help it :P And you amazing people...8 reviews? Within the first chapter? You guys are amazing; you all deserve salad bowls of cookie dough ice cream!

Thanks for reading, please review, and stay tuned!

- Yin


	3. Chapter 2 'The Ride'

Okay! Chapter 2, riiiighhtt here!

And just so you know...the easiest way to make me happy is reviewing. :)

Hope you enjoy. Stay tuned!

- Yin

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN GUNDAM SEED/GUNDAM SEED DESTINY...this story is mine, though. MITTS OFF!

* * *

**The Ride **

"Okay, come on, Athrun," He told himself. "She's just a girl. And it probably didn't even happen!"

Exactly a week later, and the shock hadn't wired itself down from Athrun's body. Now, as he was suiting up in his assassinating kit, that girl was running circles in his mind. Ever since he was given her as a mission, it was all the young boy thought about.

She would be his first thought as he woke up, his only thought during the day, his last thought at night, and their meeting was the only thing he dreamt about. But with all that blood, how could such a memory be thought of as a dream? Isn't it a nightmare?

_'Not if a girl that beautiful is in it." _Athrun thought. He shook his head vigorously; what is wrong with him? Wasn't he the one who said that you shouldn't fall for a target? Because it would jeopardise the mission? Because it's just some _girl?_

"Cagalli Yula Attha..."

The name rolled off his tongue; it suited the face that had been burnt into his mind. It sounds like her; it sounds like the kind of character she may be. It sounds beautiful, like her. And he likes saying her name, it sounds good to sa-

"Athrun and Cagalli," he murmures. "That sounds nice."

His emerald eyes widen. Did he just say their names together? Athrun hurriedly pulls on the last bit of his kit, before rushing out of his small flat, and for some reason, he is not ashamed of what he has done with their names, and it surprises him.

But he barely knows her! Hell, he only found out her name a week ago! This isn't right; it is wrong, wrong, _wrong. _

But Athrun realizes, as he speeds down the road, that she isn't just some girl. She is the girl that, basically, traumatized him in his early teens. Who made him doubt every theory in physics classes up until now. Who made him spend hours on that dreaded laptop, researching any existence of angels.

And, she was his first kiss.

* * *

Athrun doesn't realize how awkward, uneasy and nervous he is, until he sees meets the rest of his team at Head Quarters, all suited up. He has never felt this way before in a mission; nervouse about hurting the target?

What if he was told to kill her? Would he have gone through with it? He barely knows her; so why does he feel so disgusting all of a sudden? Why does he feel like this goes against everything he believes in? If he can kill countless people, why not her? Just because she has wings, does it make her any different?

Why does he want to protect a girl he doesn't know so badly?

"Athrun," Dearka says firmly. "You need to stay focused."

Does he know? "What are talking about?"

Dearka looks to the floor of their van. "I don't know what it is, but you're acting a little off."

"_Way _off, actually." Yzak adds, as he loads his gun.

"What I mean is," Dearka starts again. "Is that I don't know what happened between you and this girl, but I can see that you're uneasy about this. But you're one of my closest friends, and the only advice I can give is that if we do things right and cross our fingers, she won't have to die at your hands."

"Damn, Dearka," Yzak butts in again. "With the advice you give, you're practically a women!" The two boys ignored them, and turned to each other again.

"Thanks, Dearka. I needed to hear that." Athrun says, as he gets up to ready weapons he hopes he doesn't have to use.

"Yeah, I know! That's why I said it!" Dearka says with a smirk, before patting Athrun on the back, and readying himself too.

Athrun sighs, and replays Dearka's words again and again in his mind to try believe it. All he has to do, is stick out a week with these stupid thoughts to get to the Union of Orb, where Cagalli Yula Attha lives, and then stick out another week with her, in van and a motel for a few nights and then it's all over. Job done, problem solved.

Then he can move on.

But even Athrun isn't that stupid. He knows that this mission will be his most complicated one yet._**

* * *

**_

"Sooo, do you guys have any games we can play on the road?" Dearka asks from the drivers seat.

The boys groan. "Not again, Dearka." Nicol says, plugging headphones into his ears; the music is so loud that the rest of them don't bother commenting. Though Athrun tried to do the same, he couldn't quite concentrate on his music as much as he would've liked. For obvious reasons. So, he resulted to listening to Dearka's rambling, or the songs he would sing loudly with the radio.

"_Ooooohhhhhh, someone like me_!" Dearka sang loudly. "_Ooohh, you know that I could use somebo_-"

"SHUT UP, OR BY END OF THIS, YOU COULD USE SOME SKIN INSTEAD!" Yzak screamed at him from passengers seat.

"Why are you so uptight?" Dearka yelled back. "I'm just having some fun, why don't you just chill for once, Yzak?"

"Not when you're screaming fit to burst in my ear!" Yzak cried.

"You guys, let's not fi-" Athrun tried.

"You're gonna make a terrible husband, Yzak." Dearka said, his eyebrows dancing.

Yzak paled. "Oh God, you heard?"

"Hear what?" Athrun asks innocently.

"That our little Yzak here is engaged!" Dearka said in a teasing voice, laughing.

"Ooooh," Athrun said with a smirk. "Who's the poor, unlucky girl?"

"Shut up. Shut up _now._" Yzak snaps.

"Ever heard of that Shiho Hahnenfuss?" Dearka continued, ignoring the mortified platinum blonde.

"Oh, _her!_" Athrun exclaims, loving that Yzak is dying in front of him. "She's got a mouth on her, right Yzak?"

Yzak whinned, and even sobbed a little. "Yeah, I _know_!"

"But you're a little young, aren't you Yzak?" Nicol asks all of a sudden, with a sweet smile. They never understand how he can still hear with those headphones in.

"We're not actually gonna get married anytime soon; we're just engaged for a while," Yzak grumbles. "A very long while."

"Well, at least she's hot," Dearka says lazily, turning a roundabout. "I'd give her a 6."

"Nah, 7." Nicol says.

"Stop rating my wife!" Yzak yells.

Athrun shakes his head; that had always been a habit of his three comrades. They would always rate women from 1 to 10. Of course, Athrun had never done this, since his mother had always taught him to treat women the utmost respect. So he just had to watch and groan as Yzak, Dearka and Nicol would rate girls. Though, now Yzak seemed a little touchy about it.

"Oooh, getting a little protective, are we?" Dearka said. "And she's not even your wife yet! So chill!"

"Well how would you like it if I rated that Mirriellia girl?"Yzak cried.

"Hey! Leave her out of it!" Dearka snapped. "She my...err..."

"Yeah, what _is _she to you?" Athrun teased.

"Oh, you're one to talk, Zala!" Yzak spoke.

Athrun's navy eyebrows furrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You like a girl that we have a 37.78% chance of killing!" Yzak cried. "I did the math! And who knows, _you _could be the one assigned to kill her!"

"She won't die!" Athrun yelled.

"How do you know?" Yzak yelled back.

"Because I'll make sure of it!" Athrun yelled louder.

"And how is that going to work, Athrun?" Nicol asked calmly, whilst staring out of the window. "Your priorities lie with ZAFT, _your _military. Are you just going to go against years of training, loyality and oaths?"

"He has a point, Athrun," Dearka says sternly now. "You need to figure what it is that you think you're going to do if worse comes to worse with this girl."

"I don't even know her," Athrun said plainly, hiding his worry well. "She just...she's..."

"Well, whatever she is," Nicol says. "Is she more important to you than us?"

"N-no, of course not." Athrun stutters, because he doesn't know if he is lying.

"Well, there you go then!" Yzak says. "Your loyalty lies with us and with ZAFT. Just do what you have to with this mission, and then move on."

"R-right." Athrun said, and he was silent throughout the rest of the weeks journey to Orb.

* * *

Okay...that was horribly short. Originally, I was going to make the next chapter, and this one into one, but I think the length would've been a bit ridiculous, so I made the ride to Orb a separate chapter.

If you hate it, I'm terribly sorry; but the story gets quite intense from here onwards so I wanted to get some fun in there...but it gets good next chapter...becaaauuussee...CAGALLI'S COMING INTO THE STORY! Woot woot! *party poppers*

Hehe, so yes...the story line starts to pick up...and the good stuff will come in.

Thanks for sticking it through this chapter...I know it's horribly boring. Hopefully the next update will make up for it? :)

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned!

Aaaaannnddd...please review! :D

- Yin


	4. Chapter 3 'Holy, Holy White'

The scenario in this chapter was the first idea I came up with; now, I'm making it into a story. :)

Hope you enjoy, reviews are wanted more than oxygen.

- Yin

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN GUNDAM SEED/GUNDAM SEED DESTINY

* * *

**Holy, Holy, White**

Athrun knows that she is there, in this small, small flat of hers. It is singular, a bungalow, not many others surrounding her. He can't see her properly through the monitors in the side of his and his teammates van, only her figure sitting on a sofa, probably watching TV.

And he thinks, wonders, _believes_ for a second, that it could have all been a dream. That she has no wings, that none of her blood had been spilt, that he had just simply imagined a girl that looked just like her. And how can you blame him? People come up with all sorts of excuses when they want to avoid death.

"This is practically a piece of cake," Yzak says, grinning. "She lives alone with hardly anyone to help her!"

"Stop gloating and get your gear on!" Dearka says, as he pulls on a helmet, with a shield covering his face like the rest of them. "Who knows, she could be skilled in karate or something; never underestimate your target, Yzak."

Yzak grumbles in agreement, and pulls on his own helmet. Once they are all ready, they huddle around each other, and go over the plan one more time. Athrun tries to listen, but he struggles.

"Dearka and Nicol, take the roof," Yzak instructs. "if we need any serious help. The girl's code name is 'Phoenix'. Camaras have already been set up in her house; Commander Zala some how got that done for us. We will be monitoring her movements for about 3 minutes, before I knock her out using the pressure points in her neck."

"Why don't you just give a blow to the nose?" Dearka asks.

"No, she has to be in almost perfect condition when we bring her back to HQ," Athrun says. "Besides, she is just a girl."

"Exactly," Yzak finishes for him. "That leaves you, Athrun. You take her kitchen. There's a chance that she may see me, and run for a weapon or a window to climb out of. You make sure she doesn't do either."

"Okay. We all set?" Nicol asks, smiling.

Everyone nods, and they pull the screens down on their helmets, and silently take their positions around her house. Dearka and Nicol have the easy job of just climbing up onto the girl's roof, but it took Athrun and Yzak a while to bend the metal frame of her window with tools, so it would be easier to smash through when they capture their target.

Through the portable monitor Athrun has, he can see her. She sits in the corner of her sofa, her elbows resting on her knees, and her palms cupping her face loosely. She has grown, he notes. Her now much more feminine figure, complete with curves where they should be. Her shoulder length hair remained the same, and much more beautiful when not splattered with blood.

And her face.

_God, _her face.

Her skin, still peachy and plump, those eyes looking a little dull as it stares into the TV which he is not sure she is hearing. Her lips are parted slightly, full and thick, the colour of pink roses. Her expression is neutral, maybe even slightly bored. But there is something more that Athrun cannot quite put a finger on.

He zooms in to see her face clearer, it now occupying the whole screen of his small monitor. Athrun does a double take, and his perfect eyebrows furrow. Her face is just like before, as he had thought, but her eyes.

They are filled with tears that do not fall.

His monitor senses movement, and it zooms out to see her body again. And it is right; her face lowers quickly, until her hands are holding them. He can see her swallow, probably that lump he knows is in her throat. He can almost feel it too, watching her.

He turns on the sound quietly, his curiosity getting the better of him. He hears the TV blaring in the background softly, but Cagalli herself is making no noise. She leans forward a little, and then her head and body hunch over, so that the hands that hold her face are resting on her knees, still holding her face.

Athrun feels guilty at that second. He wants to take back everything he has ever done to plan her kidnapping; he doesn't even know why she is upset, but he feels at fault for it. For some stupid reason. Watching her sit like that all alone, with no-one to comfort her; it reminds him a little of himself.

"Athrun!" Yzak's voice whispers sharply in his ear from the microphone. "I think Phoenix is going to head to the kitchen! It's probably going to be you to capture it!"

Athrun's heart screams in agony, even louder so, when he sees her lift up her head, and ball her fists up. She gets up quickly, and makes her way to the kitchen, like Yzak predicted. Athrun hides deeper in the large bush he is hiding in, though still in a good angle where he can see her fill up her kettle.

She is resiliant; refusing to stay upset for too long, and now, making a cup of tea or coffee to forget? Move on? Reconsider? He doesn't know, but he feels uneasy. Very uneasy. Watching her, as she plugs up her kettle, it is inevitable to realize.

She is stronger than he is.

When Athrun had lost his mother, he was a mess; he would look like her, hunched over in a sofa, a chair, the floor, _anywhere. _He wouldn't move unless his body screamed at him for it, unless he was aching so badly with thirst or hunger, that it hurt. But this girl...Cagalli. She's defiant, even when she is unhappy.

"ATHRUN!" Yzak whispers again, a little louder, and a lot more snappier. "Snap out of it and kidnap her now! You're better at hitting pressure points than I am, anyway!"

Athrun knows that Yzak is serious, because he will never admit that he is better, only when he is desperate. But he can't help it. He can't help but watch her as she fetches tea bags, sugar and milk. He can't but watch as she fiercely, yet slowly, wipes the tears in her eyes away with the back of he hand.

"Damn it!" He can hear Yzak curse. "Dearka, Nicol! Give Athrun some help and cut the lights!"

Almost immediatly, the lights are off. Cagalli stops for a second, and lifts her head to the lights. She stares at them for maybe a second or two. Then she groans loudly, and mumbles something about not being bothered to get the torch; obviously wanting her tea more.

Athrun chuckles; she is headstrong and lazy, he learns. She's-

"WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT?" Yzak is almost screaming his whisper. "That's it, Athrun! If you don't do it, I will!"

This makes Athrun snap back to reality, and push the window, so that he glass shatters on the kitchen floor, and crunches under his boots as he lands neatly on top of it. He looks up to see her, not knowing what to expect; she isn't that predictable, or easy to follow.

But as she stands there in that moment, the moonlight hitting her, stirring her tea bag and not-so-hot water, milk and sugar, she is beautiful. He knows he thinks it too much; but she is. So simple, so delicate. Yet so complicated, so strong. So gentle, so fierce. So-

Her head slowly looks up at him, and he is confused; her expression is not surprised, not petrified. It is calm, not screaming. It is blank, not crying. She stops stirring, and looks at him for a long moment. She looks at him with those eyes.

Straight into his now, suddenly, vulnerable emerald ones; and it is as if she has won. But that is not the case as she starts-

Walking to him?

Athrun is shocked, taking a small step back, even, the crystals of glass crunching again. She walks slowly to him from accross the kicthen, looking at him a little blankly. She takes a deep breath, as she stops just before the border of glass that separates them both.

It hurts to look at her; with those eyes. With that hair. With those lips. With that skin. But Athrun's hell is broken, as her head drops, and turns to look away to the side of her. She raises her arms, her wrists together; she looks like she is...offering something.

Herself?

Athrun doesn't understands. He stares at her; dumbfounded. She's..._letting_ him take her? No, it can't be! Why would she give up so easily? Why is she giving in so calmly? From the 3 minutes that he has watched her, it doesn't seem like the person she is. So why-

"Just do it, would you?" She says in a monotone voice.

Her voice; that's her voice. Oddly enough, it's not like he thought it would be. He tried to conjure up millions of voices to that image or her and her bloody wings in his mind. He tried as many as possible, but failed. But this suits her. Why hadn't he thought of it be-

"But, why don't you run?" He whispers to her. "Why don't you scream?"

Her head stays in the same position, but her eyes snap up to him. Those amber eyes being accented by the moonlight, twinkling more way than one. He feels he has said something wrong, but how is he meant to know? He does not know her. They do know each o-

"When I have a choice, over whether I scream or run," She says slowly. "I will not."

There is a pause.

"But-"

"I'm making this is easy for you," Her voice is shaking, as her eyes look at him again, glistening. "Please, make this easy for me, too."

Athrun sucks in a breath, and silently agrees. He doesn't want to make her cry; and for that simple reason, his hands lift to touch hers. He curses himself, because he forgot to put his gloves back on when he was watching her through that monitor. The stupid thing was a touch screen, so had to take them off.

But he doesn't regret or curse his memory, when his fingertips touch the inside of her wrists; which were warm from the blood flowing through her. He is touching her; after all these years, only knowing the feel of her lips on his, he is touching her. Her skin is as soft as he would've thought, as he drags a finger across it, when he ties her with rope; but it is meant to be a very very good kind, that do not break at all; _ever._ But to Athrun, it is still just rope. Still just simple, common, ro-

Her eyes widen at him, all of a sudden.

"I..." She whispers; it is all too familiar for him. "I know you..."

He doesn't mean to, but he smiles. Warmly.

"I know you, too."

She blinks, confused. Her hands rise together, because of the rope that binds them, and she touches the only bit or bare skin on his face. Athrun is shell shocked. She is touching him. _She_ is touching _him._ Her finger tips are gentle, almost ghostly. It's like it is burning him; but the most pleasurable he would've thought that was out there.

And she is blushing, all of a sudden, her eyes wide, and he hands falling back quickly until they are in front of her. She inhales quickly through her nose, and turns redder, tucking some hair behind her ear with a bit of difficulty, due to the ropes, as she turns her head to the side, avoiding eye contact with Athrun.

"S-sorry for kissing you." She whispers, and if possible her cheeks are glowing with her blush now.

She is adorable, Athrun learns. He smiles fondly at her.

"Yo, Athrun," Dearks calls as he walks in lazily with his is hands behind his head, yawning. "You're taking ages! Just carry the girls body to the-"

He sees the pair, unnaturally close, and Cagalli jumps back a little, realizing this. Athrun smile grows larger as he watches her, though fades when he sees that the solemn look on her face has made it's way back to her.

"WHY IS SHE STILL CONSCIOUS?" Dearka cries. "ARE YOU CRAZY?"

He runs to Cagalli, hooking his arms around either one of her forearms. She hisses, the ropes rubbing uncomfortably on her skin.

"DON'T TOUCH HER!" Athrun yells, pushing Dearka back with a push that was maybe a little un-called for.

Athrun moves so he is in front of her, not taking another chance. "Let me explain, Dearka."

"Yeah, to me too, Zala!" Yzak cries as he marches in. Before he can approach Cagalli, Athrun has blocked it off with his body, using on arm to reach behing him and pull Cagalli's forearm gently to a way that is more conveniant for her safety.

"What's going on? Why are you guys so lou-" Nicol says, running into the kitchen. He spots Cagalli. "What the-? WHY IS SHE STI-"

"Yeah, I'm getting to that!" Athun interupts, growing impatient. "She gave herself in."

"WHAT?" the three boys cry in unison.

"I suggest you all be quiet," Cagalli butts in with a calm voice, sharply. "Though this neighbourhood is small, it's quiet. Don't make things difficult for yourselves."

They all snap their heads to Cagalli, who is staring at the floor.

There was a long pause, before Yzak speaks up.

"I guess we should just...go back, then." And he does so, making his way out of the kitchen.

"Y-yeah," Dearka agrees. "Come on then, girl." He says to Cagalli, gesturing for her to follow him.

Cagalli follows Dearka, looking down as she does. Dearks makes sure she is close behind him, and Athrun is close behind her. Nicol assists them, walking next to her. They all stare at her from he corner of their eyes, as they cross the road to the van.

"So, what are you up to?" Nicol asks.

Cagalli glances at him. "I'm just...making things easy."

Everyone listens, and is silent, as they approach the van. It is a platform higher, and it is obvious that she will have trouble getting on when all the stability lies within her hands; the hands that have been tied up.

"Here," Athrun says, like the gentlemen he is. "I'll hel-"

Blue sparks of what looks like, electricity, flies around her feet for less than a moment, before she is lifted up into the van, landing softly. Her knee long black shorts whip against her legs, as she goes up, as well as her red sleeveless shirt as she descends, her flat shoes clicking as it touches the metal.

Athrun eyes widen. Acts of an angel? Is she really a-?

"What was that?" Athrun says a little loudly. "Were those sparks? Electricity?"

Cagalli looks back at him with dull eyes for a second too long.

"No," she says simply. "I just jumped."

"No, you didn't!" Athrun cries again. "You-"

"You're imagining things." She says firmly, as if it is a matter of fact.

The boys are silent, as they watch her, walking to the corner of the van and plopping herself down onto it. She lets out a breath they didn't know she was holding, and watch as she stares at nothing in particular, dying to know what it is that is making her do this.

"I'll drive," Yzak states. "You three stay in the back and keep a close eye on her."

They all do so; all of them quite happy to, actually.

"You're an odd girl," Dearka says slowly. "Giving yourself up to people you don't even know."

The van starts to move, and the pause is filled with the sound of the tires rubbing against the road.

"Aren't you going to say something?" Dearka askes maybe a little too nicely.

"What's to say?" She says plainly. "_My _choice, _my_ decision. Nothing that concerns y-"

She stops, and her eyes widen.

_'No, Cagalli_,' her mind yells. _'Not now. Please, God, no-" _

She screams; loudly, frighteningly. She clamps a hand over her mouth.

The boys jump back, alarmed.

"WHAT ARE YOU-" Dearka cries, but gasps loudly, as he watches her; just like the other boys.

Cagalli chokes; blood trailing out of her mouth, down her nose, as she tries desperately to contain it in her hands. She lurches forward in agony, revealing the blood that is slowly soaking her red t-shirt, turning it darker, and darker, and darker, and-

Athrun panicks. It's happening again. It is her wings? She is bleeding; again. Again, and again, and again. She continues to choke and cough loudly, blood smearing on the floor and walls of the van. The boys panic, not knowing what to do.

"WHAT'S GOING ON?" Yzak calls from the drivers seat. "WHAT'S THE GIRL-"

She screams again. Louder, longer, desperate.

"She's bleeding!" Dearka yells, scrambling through medical kits to find some bandages, some cloths. Something to soak up the blood. "She just started screaming, and now she's bleeding! It's the most severe on her back!"

"Try to see what's wrong!" Yzak instructs. "Try to clean it!"

Athrun approaches her, petrified. "Cagalli," he says into her ear gently. "I need to look at your back."

"N-no!" She says, but more blood spills from her mouth, and she is too weak to do anything. "D-don't look at me!"

Dearka and Nicol huddle close to Cagalli, trying to mop up the blood that they can't keep up with. She trys to swat them away, but she is too weak. They dab at her mouth, her nose. Their vision becomes more and more crimson.

Athrun gritts his teeth. He hooks an arm around her stomach gently, whispering comforting words into her ears, knowing they won't work, but hoping for the best. He slowly lifts up her dark, dark red shirt, and his jaw drops.

Two _extremely_ deep gashes on either sides of her back; running from the top of her shoulders, to just under the arch of her back.

They are bare, and open, and are growing bigger and bigger, and bigger, and-

Athrun moves away quickly, and joins Dearka and Nicol at trying to mop away the blood that never ends.

"WELL?" Dearka yells. "What is it?"

"I-It's..." Athrun stutters, traumatized as he fights the urge not to shake from fear; but he already is. "I-I-"

Cagalli screams again; but this is different. This is piercing, deafening, so _excruciatingly _painful, as she clutches her golden hair, staining it in red, in so much agony, that the boys jump back.

The van swerves, and the top and sides of the van dent outwards, and just as quickly, break away, revealing the scenery of a forest; their shortcut route. The sound of the metal bending, and snapping off the van as if it were nothing, makes the boy scream in fear.

Except Athrun; this is all too familiar for him.

The cloud of the earthy dust everywhere clears slowly, revealing Cagalli.

Her knees are together on the floor, her back hunched over. Her head is bent, and her golden hair falls to cover he face. Blood drips from he knows is her mouth and nose, onto her knees_. _And yet again, her crumpled, bleeding body sitting on what is left of their van, is not the most shocking sight_. _

It is now even larger wings that had yet again exploded from her back.

The now white, white wings; the top of either ones dipped in blood.

Much larger than Athrun remembers.

It is even more poweful than Athrun remembers.

Even stronger.

Even more..._angelic. _

But now, dancing around the wings, are the same sparks of blue that lifted her into their van.

* * *

...does it make up for the last chapter? :)

Pleeeeaassee review! Stay tuned.

- Yin


	5. Chapter 4 'Misty Shelter'

It was fun writing the last chapter...I wonder how this one will go down...

Thanks for the reviews and favourites and etc! :D You sure know how to keep me happy!

Keep the reviews coming, guys!

- Yin

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN GUNDAM SEED/GUNDAM SEED DESTINY

* * *

**Misty Shelter**

"SHIT!" Yzak cries, wiping blood from a cut that ran down his cheek. He stumbled through a few trees to find his comrades. The front of the van had been tossed somewhere, leaving Yzak with a few bruises and cuts than the others. "WHAT THE HELL HAPP-"

And he sees her. Those white, white wings. Those sparks of blue that dances around them. Her bloody hands clutching her golden hair. She was curled up, hunched over. The boys couldn't see her face; and most of them didn't know if they wanted to.

"C-Cagalli..." Athrun whispered.

There nothing but her quiet sobs that could be heard. They just stood there; watching, waiting. For her? To get up? They couldn't just stand there doing nothing. But Athrun cannot quite comprehend what is before him. Never the less, her goes to her.

"Cagalli?" He whispers again, laying a hand on her shoulder.

Her head shoots up, so they are looking into each other again. She looks the same as when she did when she was 13 years old. Tired and dull. That is not what those amber eyes are made for though, he knows.

But her eyes are suddenly filling with tears, as her head drops again. What has she done? She wanted to escape. She wanted to be taken away from here. She wanted to be thought of as nothing but an average girl; or just the niece of Uzumi Nara Attha.

"What are we going to do?" Yzak says frustratedly. "All of our communication devices were in that van! Now, it's destroyed!"

"Just calm down, Yzak." Nicol urged. "No point in getting riled up."

"Yeah, I should be getting riled up at _you!" _Yzak yelled, pointing to Cagalli.

She turned away from him, and carefully moved Athrun's hand off her shoulder. Though Athrun offers her help, she declines, and gets up. She winces slightly. The roots of her wings, where it is joined to her body is still sore. They have only just awoken, after all. She clings to a tree for support, learning how to stand.

"What the hell _a__re_ you?" Yzak yells at her again. He doesn't give her time to answer. "Because whatever it is, it's your fault! Now, we're stuck in some damn forest, with no-one to call to come and get us! We're stuck here, for god knows how long, all because of-"

"Yzak." Athrun seethes. "Look at her."

Yzak blinks, baby blue eyes widening. Cagalli's body and clothes are in tatters. She stares at the earthy ground below her, electricity buzzing through her wings. She looks heart broken and defeated. As well as disappointed and scared.

"Do you think she had a choice in this?" Athrun asks plainly. "Do you think she _chose _to be born like this?"

Cagalli gasps loudly, looking at Athrun with wide eyes. And she looks away just as fast, guilt rushing too her just as fast as tears rush to her eyes. He doesn't know. He thinks she was...born like this? What is he thinking? That she is some kind of-

"Angel." She says slowly, quietly. "You think I'm an angel."

She doesn't ask it; she states it. But she doesn't expand. She doesn't correct Athrun like she should. She doesn't nod solemnly, and give him a warm smile. She shakes her head slowly, looking away once again. This time _ashamed._

"Blaming someone for something won't solve anything," Athrun says firmly. "May as well clean up the mess, rather than fight about who made it."

The boys silently agree, and there is another pause. What do they do? They are in a country they are not familiar with. Well, Cagalli is. Maybe she could tell them where to go. Becuase other than killing people they are told to kill, they are just...boys.

"There are some cheap motels up ahead," Cagalli says. "It's a bit of a journey on foot, but it's not like we have a choice."

The boys look at her, as she smooths out her sleeveless red shit, which is still sticky with blood. She begins to walk, slowly, and it really is a sight. A girl with large wings, as white as the moon, with blood trailing from the tips of them, into a forest, deeper and deeper, the trees surrounding her. Her blood, they realize.

The walk is slow, and silent. The tense atmosphere and the questions they want to ask flies invisibly between them all. Were you really born like this? Can you fly with them? Where do they come from? Are they heavy? What are the sparks of blue? Are you really an-

"Here," Athrun says to Cagalli. Her head turns to him, surprised.

Underneath his assassin outfit, he is wearing a scarf. He moves closer to Cagalli, wrapping it around her neck, his fingers brushing her skin, jolting both of them. She looks at him; confused. He's helping her. How does he know she is cold? The goosebumps on her arms? Why does he care? She is not what he thinks. She is not an-

Athrun blushes lightly, and stares at the ground. "I'd give you my jacket, but I don't how to get it round your..."

He stops. They are _wings, _aren't they?

He looks up at her 'wings'. They are far greater than he remembers. The sparks of blue do not cease to fly around them. And she looks even more beautiful. Surrounded by the trees, the night keeping things simple. The moon is peeking through, as if watching them. Not believing her to be an angel. Her face glows unintentionally, and her small smile sends him realing into nothing.

"Thank you." She says quietly.

She wraps the scarf around her tighter; it is woolly and thick. It smells like him. She shapes it so that it covers her nose and mouth, and she breathes it in deeply; his scent is intoxicating, she realizes. It's warm in this cold night. Musky and addictive. No wonder she kissed him 3 years ago.

"C-Cagalli," Nicol says suddenly.

They all look at him, as they step over large branches, the soil soft under their shoes. He said her name. And even Cagalli is surprised. Sure, Athrun said it first. But they have a history. He is the only exception. But to Nicol, she is the target. And he addresses her with her name. This hasn't been done before. Maybe it is a given respect, for an-

"Can you...fly?" He finishes.

Cagalli smirks into Athrun's scarf, and she can tell they are all listening, she knows, as the twigs crunch beneath their feet. They want to know. Do they want to see? Do they know that..? No. They couldn't possibly.

"Do you think I can?" She asks him. She looks at him straight in the eye.

Nicol may be young, but he is not stupid. He knows she is beautiful. He is still a boy, after all. He cannot help but admit it. He cannot help but admire. Just like he could not help but ask. He looks at her; her wings are as beautiful as she. Her smile coming in close third.

"Yes. Yes, I think you could." He says simply.

"Then I probably can."

The boys are silent, and the owls in the forest do the talking for them. What would it feel like to fly? Being so, so high up? Following the birds? Shifting through clouds? Touching the blue of the sky? Holding it in your palms?

"So..." Dearak asks slowly. "Could you give us a lift to the motel?"

Cagalli smirks.

"I can't carry four boys. I don't have super strength."

"Oh..." Dearka says.

There is another small pause, and Cagalli giggles. Whether they want to or not, all the boys smile. She sounds cute when she laughs. It sounds nice. It suits her well. Athrun watches her from the corner of his eye. She is adorable, as she snuggles into his scarf. Looking down, and though he cannot see her mouth, he knows she is smiling.

* * *

For a good 30 minutes, they are all silent as they walk through the woods. Cagalli's laughter ringing in their ears, and Cagalli herself is smiling. If she has do die at their hands, it would be a bit better, she guessed. They are good boys. Good friends. Good people. Even if they _did _think she was an-

"ARGH!" Cagalli yells, and she clutches her stomach, her knees falling to the floor.

"Cagalli!" Athrun cries, and the rest of the boys rush to her. "Wh-What's happening?"

Only a few trails of blood this time, dribble from her mouth and nose. She doesn't bother to try and contain it this time. She hisses loudly, and lets out another yell, and suddenly the sparks her wings are going crazy.

"What is it?" Athrun persists. "What's going o-"

"GET AWAY!" She screams, scrambling backwards. The boys are shocked, but they do not back off.

"I'M SERIOUS!" She yells, letting out a longer scream. "IF YOU'RE TOO CLOSE, YOU WILL DIE!"

The boys gasp in panic. Though they are reluctant, they move a couple of yards away, watching worriedly as Cagalli hunches over and yells in agony. Even the blood was at a minimal, they fear for her life. They've seemed to be doing that a lot these past couple of hours.

And then they see it.

The blue sparks build to a point where they are blinding, and her wings start to flap slowly. The gust it lets out is enough to push someone flat on their back if walking, but luckily, the boys have some trees to hold on to.

They can hear Cagalli's scream through the whirling wind, and they then understand why it is that she wanted them to move away.

The sparks of blue are now containing the insanely strong gusts, and a small ball of every moving sparks of blue encases Cagalli and her wings, muting her screams, replacing it with the crackles of the sparks. They watch in fear, as the ball of blue dances and dazzles, and quick as it came it is gone; bursting into millions of pieces, until there is nothing but silence again.

By the time the four find their courage, and rush to the young girl, the wings are gone, and so is her blood. Leaving a dizzy and aching Cagalli sitting on the floor clutching her forehead, wincing. They huddle around her, and Athrun takes this chance to drape his jacket around her shoulders, supporting her as she struggles to get up.

"Where are your...?" Yzak breathes, but her look tells him enough.

"You sure are full of surprises, Cagalli." Dearka says.

Cagalli smiles weakly, shaking her head, and she faints. If Athrun hadn't hooked an arm round her waist, she would've hit the ground face first. With a flick of his arms, he is piggy backing her, looking at the guys sternly.

"I think we seriously need to get to this motel fast. Cagalli needs rest."

The next hour spent hurriedly getting to a motel they hope they are getting close to. Cagalli woke up at some point during the hurry, and instisted that she could go herself, much to Athrun's disaprovel. They manage to get there eventually, but the manager of the motel raises an eyebrow at them.

Four boys, in black clothing, with a pretty girl clad in a shirt and shorts that is darkened with blood.

"You sure you all are alright?" He asked quizzically. "What are you to each other?"

They all stutter and look at each other. Cagalli rolls her eyes. They seriously suck at being teenagers.

"Oh, this my boyfriend," She says, leaning her head on Athrun's shoulder with a sweet smile.

He looks at her as though she has just grown a second head, but quickly smiles at the manager, hooking an arm round her waist, kissing her head.

"And, err," Cagalli continues, a light bulb sparking as she looks at Yzak. "This is my little brother!"

Yzak glares at her slightly, even more so when she takes advantage of the opportunity and ruffles his hair a little too hard. He grunted in annoyance swatting Cagalli away who was biting her lip as she contains a laugh.

"And this is _my _brother!" Athrun says, punching Nicol on the arm playfully, who winced, and rubbed it whilst trying to smile. "Family outing!"

"And you?" The manager asks Dearka.

"I'm..." He tries desperately.

The difference in Athrun and Yzak's pale skin colour is nothing like his tanned, so he cannot be their brother, nor Cagalli's since that would mean that he was Yzak's brother too. Saying that he was adopted would just make the manager more suspicious, so he has to suck up his pride, and take one for the team.

"I'm his boyfriend," Dearka says with a sweet smile, leaning his head on Yzak, much like Cagalli did to Athrun.

Yzak's face burns in embarrassment, and his face twists in disgust though he tries to hide it. He looks at Cagalli and Athrun, who are almost crying in laughter. Then he looks at the annoying blonde head on his shoulder. Taking one for the team, he guesses.

"Yeah, of two years now," He says in a sickly sweet voice, leaning his head on Dearka's.

"Right," The manager says, passing them the room keys. "Your rooms are on he end. Only two in each when you decide to go to sleep."

"But there are five of us..." Nicol said. "Odd number."

"Fine; you can bunk this time, but don't tell anyone." The manager said. He didn't want one of these odd people alone in a room. Who knows what havoc would ensue.

"Thank you!" Cagalli says, snatching the keys quickly, still smiling. "Come on...baby." She says awkwardly to Athrun, pulling him by the hand.

"Yeah...sweety, lets go!" Dearka says, walking briskly after the pair, dragging Yzak by the sleeve of his jacket.

Once they all huddle in to one room, Athrun and Cagalli do not hesitate to promptly burst out laughing, clutching their stomachs, as Yzak and Dearka edge away from each other. They just took one for the team! It wasn't their fault.

"But you could've just said you were his cousin, Dearka!" Cagalli cried, still in fits of laughter.

Dearka paled, as Yzak punched him in the arm.

He should've thought of that.

* * *

"Okay, so we'll get some rest tonight," Athrun said. "And then we'll find some to contact HQ in the morning."

They all nodded.

"So, I guess I'll see you guys in the morning." Dearka said. He offered Cagalli a smile. "Get some rest, okay?"

She nodded, and smiled back.

"Yeah, you err," Yzak said awkwardly. "You...don't...do that again." he said to the young women.

Cagalli looked away. "It's not like I have a choice."

There was a pause, before Dearka and Yzak made their way for the door.

"I get the bed." Yzak said.

"Hell no! I do!" Dearka cried, opening the door.

"Well, I'm not sharing it with you!" Yzak yelled, walking out.

"I don't want a loveless relationship with you, Yzak!" Dearka yelled back, closing the door behind him.

Athrun and Cagalli smirked at each other.

There was another pause. God, there were a lot of those today.

"I guess I'll go and...freshen up." Cagalli said, getting up from the double bed.

"No, wait, Cagalli," Athrun said, grabbing her wrist. "Look, I know I sound like a perv...but I need to see your back."

Cagalli looked at him, and felt...she didn't know, actually. He really cared about her, it seemed. She didn't know why though. Hadn't she been the one to traumatize him 3 years ago? Hadn't she been the one that made him and his dear friends see crimson tonight? Isn't she the one who had unknowingly fooled into believing that she was an-

"It's okay, it healed now," she says. She turned around, pulling the back of her shirt up. "It always heals fast.

Athrun gasped. She was right. There were no menacingly large gashes; just two, very prominent scars on where those gashes were. He isn't aware of what he is doing, when he touches her scars, trailing his finger over the marred skin.

Even with these scars, she is beautful. Such soft skin, he notes. So smooth and toned, curving its way down the way they should. She has a beautiful figure he thinks, and instantly he is blushing.

Cagalli's skin tingles as she feels his fingers drag down her back softly. She wonders how long it has been since she first got those scars. They look like jagged and brutal slashes against her skin, when she seems them in the mirror. Yet, he is not afraid of them. This...Athrun. He cares for her a lot, she senses. But his touch leaves her quickly, and she smirks. He's probably blushing.

"Y-Yeah! Looks good!" Athrun says. When did it get so hot in here? "Y-You've got a good back there!"

Cagalli smiles, as she lets go of her shirt, and it falls back down, and she turns to him. "Thank you; I'm sure that your...back is very good, too!"

Athrun chuckles nervously, and Cagalli laughs at him and left smiling as she enters the bathroom.

Athrun slaps himself hard on the forehead. "'You've got a good back there?' What's wrong with you, Zala?"

After Athrun had finished punishing himself for his stupidity, and Cagalli had finished using the bathroom, he went in himself. Thankfully, she had left him plenty of hot water; so much that he wondered if she even took a shower at all. He got is answer when he smelt the strawberry scent of the motels shampoo and body wash; a scent that he too had to live with in his own hair.

He watched her, towel drying her hair from the small sofa that was opposite the bed. No doubt about it; she is beautiful. And looking at her then, he could, if he wanted to, bring himself to believe that she is an angel. She is too beautiful to be human. No human could harbour such beauty, only one with wi-

"What are you doing over there?" She asked him, as he sat on the sofa, cushioned by the leftover towels in the bathroom.

"Erm...getting ready for bed?" Athrun replied...or asked. It depends how you look at it.

"That's ridiculous! You can't expect me to let you sleep on the sofa after all I've put you through!" She says, gesturing for him to come to the bed. "Sleep on here, with me!"

"Err...I don't think that that's very appropriate, Cagalli," Athrun said slowly, though he was dying for a soft matress.

Cagalli rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a gentlemen! It's not like we're gonna have sex or anything!"

Athrun face heated up.

"Come on! It's no big deal!" Cagalli urged. "I won't have you sleep on that horrible sofa. Unless, you want me to sleep on the floor tonight?"

"Why would you do that?"

"Because if you get a crap nights sleep, so should I!" She pointed to the empty spot next to her. "Move it!"

Athrun could do nothing but edge his way next to her. There was no way in hell that he would let her sleep on the floor after a day like this; he doesn't care if she's done this hundreds of times, and slept in worse places. If he has the power to give her a comfort, he'll do it.

And that's the reason why he is sitting in the bed, with her next to him.

Cagalli grinned, sensing his discomfort. "See! Not so bad, is it?"

"Err...yeah." Athrun let out. He yawned. God knows what time it is.

Cagalli yawned too, and she lent over to switch off the lamp beside her on a small table. The dark hit them quite forcefully, and they were both glad the other was in the bed. Athrun felt Cagalli adjust herself to get comfortable, and he wondered if she could see him smile in the dark.

"Good night...Athrun."

She whispered his name; trying it out in her mouth. It sounds good. She likes it. Now, completely satisfied that everything was..._relatively _okay, her eyes dropped off to sleep, after staring at Athrun's chest for a few seconds.

Athrun was practically glowing.

She said his name.

_She _said _his_ name!

"Good night, Cagalli." He said, still smiling, but he knew she was already asleep.

* * *

Hoped you like it...:)

Please review! They mean the world to me!

Stay tuned.

- Yin


	6. Chapter 5 'Irony'

I'm very sorry that I haven't updated in a few days; I seem to have contradicted myself. I said in an Author's Note in a previous chapter, that the longest I would not update would be 3 days...I thought this would be the case, but sadly, it isn't.

I'm not giving up the story, though! Gosh, I'd rather die! But updates will be a bit spaced out. But I promise, no more than a week apart.

I hope you will calmly cooperate; life's getting a bit tough at the moment. I am also deeply sorry for any inconvenience I may have caused.

But thank you all for the amazing support; I really needed that.

Please review, and thank you for taking the time to read this story.

- Yin

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN GUNDAM SEED/GUNDAM SEED DESTINY

* * *

**Irony**

By the time Athrun had woken up, Cagalli had already cleaned both of their blood stained clothes; there was something telling Athrun that she was used to this. Infact, by the time he was up, Cagalli was already joined by the rest of his team; obviously they hadn't liked the thought of her being supervised with just him.

"Oh, good! Zala's up!" Yzak said, though irriation masked his voice. "Maybe he can explain why his damn father is so indecisive!"

Athrun rubbed his eyes, yawning like a child. "What? What are you talking about, Yzak?"

"He's talking about how now, we don't need her!" Dearka cried, pointing to the young blonde who was looking away, her face neutral.

"What? No! You're crazy!" Athrun cried, swinging his legs out of bed.

"The hell he is!" Yzak cried, getting more and more irritated. "When we called Zala about how to get back to HQ, he just said that he was going to call us anyway; that the mission is off! That you can let the girl go, and forget it ever happened!"

"But what would we have said if she hadn't given herself up willingly?" Athrun argued for some reason. "How can you just tell someone to forget people coming to kidnap you?"

"We did try asking Commander Zala," Nicol said, the only one who seemed to be calm. "But he just said that we had to deal with it. He's sending us a lift from HQ; he wants us back immediately."

"This is ridiculous!" Athrun cried, pacing the room in boxers and t-shirt. "How could he risk this?"

"And after all the trouble we went through!" Yzak added.

There was a small silence, and the boys finally remembered that their captive was in that very room. She was holding her elbows, staring at the floor to her left side. They all felt guilty for a second, though they knew they shouldn't. Calling her a hassle and waste while she was in the room wasn't something they should've worried about, but they did.

"So," Yzak said finally. "How will you get home?"

Cagalli snapped her head to him, staring at him in the eye for a second or two. She looked away.

"I'll get my brother to pick me up." She said simply.

"But..." Nicol said, and everyone was looking at him. "What about...you...your..."

Cagalli's golden eyes hardened, as she looked at them seriously now. "I need you all to forget. Forget everything."

"Even you?" Athrun spoke without realizing.

She glanced at him and nodded. Eye contact was hard for the blonde today.

"How could you expect us to forget something like that?" Dearka cried, suddenly angry. "You bled all over us! You destroyed our van! And your an-"

Lightning blue flickered in a small cyan ball, tweeting almost like birds, as Cagalli held it next to her lower thigh. Everyone was silenced, and the sound of the ball of sparks buzzing in her palm frightened them, more than they had been by any other enemy. That look in her eye; the look of vulnerabilty. She managed to turn it on and off whenever she wanted to.

"The other alternative is to kill you; something I should've done hours ago," She said above the quiet crackles of blue. "But I don't like killing. And my own blood on my hands is enough. Why do you insist on your own death?"

Everyone was silent; she had gotten her answer. The sparks of the small cyan ball died in her hand, as they continued to stare at her.

"You say that a lot," Athrun says quietly. "About making things easy, making them difficult. Wh-"

"Because it's always one or the other, isn't it?" Cagalli says, closing her eyes. "You make it easy, or you make it hard. It can never be both. And when it is in your control...wouldn't you choose easy over hard?"

Again, the silence replied the answer they were all thinking, before Cagalli got sick of it and broke it.

"I'll call my brother to come and pick me up on the other side of the motel," She spoke, her tone weary. "I'll forget you, if you forget me."

Another pause. Cagalli's nose crinkled.

"WOULD YOU JUST SAY SOMETHING?"

Athrun laughed; a little too loudly, at that. She's odd. She's quiet. She kept to herself, leaving little bits of her to fall out of her grip every now and then. And when it did, it was...amusing. She was hot tempered, fiery and easily irritated. It was...funny.

Cagalli glared at him, and he continued to chuckle at her.

* * *

Their rides were here; and it was strange. They were parting ways almost instantly. And as easily as Cagalli had suggested, they were surprised at how it..._was. _Forgetting this ever happened was more of an offering than it was a hassle today.

They decided to leave their rooms at separate times; just a few minutes or so, not to make anyone suspicious. It's not like four assassins that were to young to do what they do, and one girl with bloody wings wanted people to know. As if the boys wanted others to know about their cruel job. As if Cagalli wanted people to see her wings. As if she wanted them to end up like her former kidnappers, and suspect she was an-

Cagalli's brother was on one side of the motel, The Joule Team's trip back to HQ on the other. Neither cars nor vans were spotted nor questioned by others, and for once the teenagers considered themselves lucky. The tense air that was between always as they packed was left untouched; no one spoke up, no one broke the ice.

What would it matter?

They were to forget it all, anyway.

Forget; it's a strong word, Athrun realizes, as he glances at the blonde on the other side of the room. She is peeking through the curtains, the glow of the retreating sun illuminating her face, reflecting off her amber eyes like mirrors. Forgetting means a lot. And most of the time, forgetting is simple...pretending.

Pretending you do not know.

Pretending you do not care.

Pretending that this girl is not worth the hassle.

"Do you...enjoy it?" Her voice is less than whisper; but who else could it be directed at, other than the blue haired teen, staring at her.

"What?" He asks, and he knows his voice is too gentle.

"Do you...enjoy killing people?"

Athrun blinked rapidly, watching the girl with furrowed eyebrows as she continued to stare at her. He watches her watch the sun, and seems...appropriate. For one thing, he will never see her again. What does it matter if she catches him with golden eyes? And her words ring in his mind, making him feel...vulnarable?

"N-no! I don't _enjoy_ it, that's-"

"They why?" She asks simply. And suddenly her eyes are hard, as they swivel to his emerald ones. "Who are you to decide whether someone lives or dies?"

Athrun's eyes feel as if they will tumble to the cheap carpet on the floor. Is she...calling him a murderer? He is not! He is not the same as the sick, disgusting man that took his dear mother's life! Of course he is not! He never intended-

"It's not my-"

"Save it." Cagalli says instantly, her head shaking. She looks defeated. "Forget I asked."

And suddenly, Athrun himself is angry.

"WHY SHOULD I?" He yells. "Why is it me who is the one who has to forget? Who's lived with the image of you covered in blood? It's not-"

"Fair?" Cagalli seethes, her words a whisper. "It's never fair, Athrun! Havn't you realized? Or are you still stupid enough to believe in karma?"

Athrun steps back, teeth gritted as her words hit home. "I just...I don't-"

"People never get what they deserve!" She says, her voice cracking, her nose wrinkling. But she stops. She lets out a breath, taking a hard blink as her gaze is somehow lead up to emerald eyes again. "They just get what they get."

Athrun stutters, words not forming properly. Does this mean his mother has died vain? That he will not have a beautiful life because she was wrenched from him? Does this mean he will never be happy again? Does that mean he will never see her after this day? Does that mean she does not want to be an-

"I...I should go now." Athrun is saying, and he doesn't realize he is saying it. "You should, too."

Cagalli just nods; it is lazy and weak, as she averts her eyes from him.

They make their way outside, meeting with the three others. Their silence is not exactly tense...it isn't anything, really. But Dearka hates akward silences, and attempts at taking the first step to a goodbye that shouldn't bother them this much.

He lays a hand on Cagalli's shoulder, and she looks up at him, dark golden brows furrowed. Dearka smiles at her.

She's strange, but cute.

"You...take care." He says softly, before walking to the team's black vans.

Nicol hugs Cagalli suddenly, and she can do nothing but smile. But as she hugs him back, she is sad. He is so young; 15? 14? And he is killing? Why would he waste such a long, pure, life? Why must he do this? Why must he purposely interwine himself with death?

He pulls back with a wide grin; his trademark.

"You take care, Cagalli!" He says cheerfully, waving back to her as he runs off behing Dearka.

"Sorry for trying to kidnap you, and breaking your windows," Yzak says when Nicol is gone, looking away. "Hopefully the next time we meet, it'll be on different circumstances."

"What makes you think there'll be a next time?" Cagalli says playfully, her smile suiting her.

Yzak smirks. She's cool. He lays an arm on her shoulder, similarly to Dearka.

"Keep yourself out of trouble, okay?"

"Don't have much choice." Cagalli says plainly, before smiling weakly one last time as he follows his commrades.

Athrun and Cagalli are left, and the sun looks almost melancholic, as it watches them part. The breeze licked at their hair, shifting it left, and they are suddenly chuckling to each other. As if they are friends. As if they are close. As if, if fate were kind to them, this is the way they would be. This is the way they _should _be.

And before they know it, they are hugging. It's weird, they both agree. His arms wrapped her waist, hers around his broad shoulders. Athrun burrows his head into her blonde, and by this time, they know this hug of theirs has lasted too long.

They pull away, ignoring whether they wanted to or not, and look at each other for a long moment, before Athrun touches her cheek gently with warm, slender fingers.

"Protect yourself." He says. "I'd hate to see you die."

Cagalli looks away, forcing Athrun's hand to drop beside him once again.

"I thought I told you to forget me," She says, almost in a grumble. "That also means not wanting to see me die. Why can't you just make this easy and-"

"Trust me, Cagalli," Athrun says, turning to walk away. "I am."

Cagalli smiles. "Idiot."

And Athrun is smiling too, and they can do nothing but walk away from each other.

Time to move on, they guess.

* * *

I promise, this is not the end! Gosh, it looks like it though, huh? :P

Thanks for reading; I know I updated terribly late, and not much of a chapter to make up for it but...reasons are in the Author's Note above.

Thank you for reading, please review, and stay tuned! ;)

- Yin


	7. Chapter 6 'Forgetting'

Chapter 6...my maths homework will have to wait. :)

- Yin

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN GUNDAM SEED/GUNDAM SEED DESTINY

* * *

**Forgetting**

Cagalli slams the car door, and slumps, along with sighing deeply in the passenger's seat. She's glad that Kira brought her car instead of his; she was missing that smell of home, of memories she would never be ready to forget. She glances over to her brother, looking at her with those piercing amethyst eyes, his over grown brown hair falling into them as always; he looks exasperated, and even grows frustrated at her silence.

"Well?" Kira asks finally. "Did you get anything?"

Cagalli shoots him a look.

"It's been 3 _days, _and you're picking me up from a motel 30 _minutes_ away from my flat from some nice young men around your age with me still a virgin."

"Jeez, all I needed was a, 'No, Kira! I didn't find out what they wanted with Uncle Uzumi's organisation, EIVA. How've your last three days been, my amazing brother?'" Kira mumbles in a huff, driving back to Orb to Cagalli's apartment.

"Well, sorry! But the plan _completely _backfired!" Cagalli cried frustratedly, hands buried in her golden hair. "They...saw. The drug that Uncle gave me to suppress my wings didn't work at all! I mean, it did for the first few hours that day...but that was before they were even at my house! And the bastards broke my windows! I _liked _those windows!"

"What?" Kira cried. "They saw them?"

"Yeah..." Cagalli says, blowing a raspberry. "It's okay, they don't seem like the kind to tell. And even if they did, no-one will believe them."

"If you say so," Kira says slowly, changing gear. "I'd tell you to be more careful about these things, but..."

"Yeah," Cagalli says quickly. "Not our choice."

There was a silence, but it was expected. Talking about Cagalli's...situation was always something that they both took to heart. The laws of attaining wings and becoming an EIVA yourself only proved it. It was nothing holy and innocent; more like a tainted bargain that wasn't fair. That wasn't _ever _fair.

"Has Uncle found anyone else?" Cagalli asks, though she knew the answer.

EIVAs are rare; very rare. There are probably only a few handfuls of people on earth that are one. If you think about it that way, building this organisation wasn't a clever thing to do; there were barely any people who were actually EIVAs themselves to be part of it, other than Cagalli herself, and a few people who also had wings like her she had befriended.

Money was involved, as well as intense secrecy; not to mention labs, scientists and maybe even a couple of doctors. And Uzumi was a polititian, too; the Chief Representative, to be exact. But it was something their Uncle had insisted on; because they _had _the money. They _had _the things that were needed to build a safe organisation for people who are cursed with wings. If they have the power, then why not put it to good use?

"No," Kira says dully, snapping out Cagalli from her thoughts. "I mean...how are we meant to? It's not like you can just tell the difference between an EIVA and someone else."

Cagalli nods slowly. "I mean, out of all the elements _I _had to be given, why lighting? Why not an EIVA sensor or something?"

Kira snorted. "Uh, 'cause 'EIVA Sensors' aren't elements? Are you sure those ZAFT assassins didn't screw you up in the head while you were asleep, Cagalli?"

Cagalli punched her twin brother in the arm mercilessly, who hissed in pain.

"Not while I'm driving, Cagalli!" He yelled, frowing as he nursed his now sore arm with the other.

Cagalli rolled her eyes.

"You're such a girl."

"No, I'm not!"

"Yes, you are!"

"No, I'm not!"

"Yes, you are!"

"No, I'm not!"

"Yes, you are!"

"No, I'm not!"

"Yes, you are!"

"No, I'm not!"

"Yes, you are, times infinite."

Kira shut up, growling. Once the 'times infinite' card was played, the winner was quickly and easily decided. And just like when they were children, Cagalli was always first to use it. He's smiling suddenly, glancing at his sister beside him, massaging her temples with her thumb and middle finger.

Life hasn't been kind to her, he knows. Watching his sister all his life, he knows that it is cruel and sadistic; she was strongest. She was always the strongest. She was the one to beat up the boys that ever made fun of Kira for whatever kind of stupid reason when they were children. She was the one to help him with art homework, because apart from maths and science, he was hopelessly shit at the rest. She was the one to sing to Kira with her guitar, when the house of their younger years grew a bit too empty when their parents were at work.

She was Cagalli; she was his best friend. The sister he could never fully protect.

And life was so devestatingly cruel, so merciless harsh to her. And for some stupid reason, she accepted this quicker than he did; but maybe he could never accept it. Maybe he would never forgive the force above them that the world had named 'God'. She was the person he couldn't imagine life without; it was too stomach churning to think about.

Because although she had done the things above, she had also given him advice for when he went on his first date with his girlfriend Lacus. She was also the one who played video games with him until her hands were numb, but still went on, because she just had to beat him. She didn't, though.

She was the one who filled the void left by their parents when they had died.

She saved him.

And maybe she would never think so, but to Kira, she would always be an-

"This radio station is pure crap, Kira!" Cagalli yells suddenly, pushing the buttons on the radio. "I told you never to play it in my car! But do you listen? Noooo! You just go on ahead and play ugly music in my sweet sweet baby, polluting all it's goodness and..."

She was ranting again; she does that a lot too. She's loud, headstrong, stubborn, bossy, thinks she's always right, she always _is_ right, her punches really hurt, she takes on massive burdens by herself, she blames herself for everything, she always finishes the ice cream without telling him, so he is depressed after dinner when he goes to the freezer to retrieve an empty Ben&Jerrys tub, she always yells at him, blackmailed him with his liking to Lacus to attain _so _many things...

But even as the list goes on, and he glances the still raging Cagalli gesturing towards him, the radio and a palm smashing against her fist, he cannot help but love her. His sister. His best friend. His guardian. His teacher. His ange-

"I made you a sandwich," Kira says, tossing it to her after fumbling in the side compartment. "It's chicken salad, your favourite."

But the word 'sandwich' alone is enough to make Cagalli snatch the sandwich neatly wrapped in clingfilm and shut up instantly, the only sounds filling the car now being the radio station and the sound of Cagalli's chews.

* * *

Athrun tosses his gloves onto his small table as he arrives in his flat. He immediately flopping down on his sofa, in desperate need of food that he could just not be bothered to go to the kitchen to get.

He knew missions were tiring, but this was _beyond _tiring; no need to explain. In fact, he doesn't want to think about it; he doesn't want to think about _her. _But he knows himself too well, and if he leaves his mind alone in silence, he'll be thinking again.

And Haumea forbid that.

So after turning his TV on as loud as it could go, Athrun fetches himself his daily glass of milk; he missed his one this morning. It wasn't something that was in his control though, considering those circumstances; one girl, one night, two-

Downing his milk down faster than what was good for him, the young boy flies back to the couch again, determined to find a balance between peace and quiet and the TV blaring, Athrun tried his hardest to sleep.

* * *

EIVA is pronounced ' ay-var ', by the way. Just in case if people would just pause at the word when they come to it in their head while they read...

Please review! And sorry for the uneventful chapter.

Stay tuned! :)

- Yin


	8. Chapter 6  Part 2 'Forgetting'

Two part chapter...:) And I know that the last chapter was VERY confusing; don't worry, it's meant to be like that. :)

And 42 reviews? Already? I had a mini heart attack when I looked! Thank you all so much! You have no idea how much this means to me!

Thank you, again; and pleae review!

- Yin

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN GUNDAM SEED/GUNDAM SEED DESTINY

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**Forgetting – Part 2**

It was odd; how Athrun found that if he just closed his eyes for a second or two, he would wake up hours later. He yawns, covering his mouth lazily as he does so, before scratching his midnight blue hair. Glancing at the clock, he groans.

**23:48**

Too late for dinner, and too early for breakfast; one of the many situations that he hated most in life. Rubbing his eyes, he winces; leaving the TV on full blast doesn't seem like such a good idea right now. He lowers the volume until it suited his mood, chucking the remote back onto his black leathered sofa.

Trudging to the kitchen, he-

_(Flashback) _

_Her knees are together on the floor, her back hunched over. Her head is bent, and her golden hair falls to cover he face. Blood drips from he knows is her mouth and nose, onto her knees. And yet again, her crumpled, bleeding body sitting on what is left of their van, is not the most shocking sight. _

_It is now even larger wings that had yet again exploded from her back._

Athrun stops abruptly. His emerald eyes shake in trauma, a hand clasping his mouth as his body begins to tremble, similarly to his eyes. For that full 48 seconds, he forgot her existence. He forgot about her.

It seems odd to think about now, as her face is flashing through his mind. He had only just saw her yesterday. He groans suddenly, slapping his forehead with his hand, whilst continuing to trudging to the kitchen for some yogurt or something; his dinner for tonight.

'_Well, that was a good 48 seconds since I woke up." _Athrun says in his mind, shoveling some apricot yogurt into his mouth. _'48 seconds without her in my head. Should've treasured them while it lasted.' _

And he has this restless feeling he cannot quite describe; he spoons another teaspoon of yogurt into his mouth, trying to analyze it. He wants to know how she is, what she's doing. She said that her brother would pick her up, so does that mean he knows about her wings? Why does he feel so worried? Why does he have this urge to _know? _Why does he-

Athrun freezes, mouth still full of yogurt.

"Oh, Haumea," He murmurs, slightly muffled, due to the yogurt, emerald eyes unblinking. "I want to call her."

Athrun never considered himself a normal teenager; hell, he is an assassin at the ripe age of 16. His mother died when he was just 14 years old. His father is one of the most important war military leaders to ever exist in ZAFT, and has strong relationships with the country PLANTs Chairman.

And he had seen a girl who was too beautiful to have wings ripped through her.

Twice.

This is far from normal, so Athrun simply didn't consider himself to be part of it.

But now, he wantes to do something he had only read about in his female comrades magazines, or those chick flicks he watched on Friday nights with pizza or chinese in secret so that Dearka, Yzak or even Nicole wouldn't tease him.

He wanted to _call _her.

Because trying to kidnap you and wiping away your blood, and secretly watching you while your slept with a forbidden smile, watching as wings and electric blue sparks break out from your body and almost kill you is _so _what first dates are made of.

Athrun drops his spoon altogether now, splattering apricot yogurt everywhere.

Did he just say _date?_

As in...with other teenage females?

Athrun groans loudly, his head now resting on his palms. What was she doing to him? How would he ever be able to take himself seriously after he just admitted to himself that he wanted to _call _a girl? Was he insane? She was an ex-target!

As he cleans up the yogurt splattered on his work top, nothing made sense anymore.

* * *

Cagalli and Kira drove straight to their Uncle Uzumi's house, or maybe 'mansion' was a better term for it. The guards don't seem to mind that it is nearly 12:00am, since they are used to it; for some reason, the Chief Representative's niece and nephew always came late to speak with or visit their Uncle. But since they were always the only family any of them had left, it was overlooked pretty quickly.

Knocking on their Uncle's study, Kira and Cagalli don't have to wait long before the door opens quickly with a smiling Uzumi looking down at them. But then his eyebrows furrowed in concern, as he saw Cagalli; she isn't meant to be here for at least another month.

By the time it dawned on him, that something went wrong with their mission on getting information from ZAFT, the twins had already settled themselves down on in the chairs in front of his large mahogany desk.

He looks at Cagalli, his eyes concerned as he meets her golden ones. "What happened? How wrong did the mission go for you to be back after a day?"

Cagalli sighs, running a hand through her golden hair, wincing as she encountered the knots. "Basically, hell broke loose. My wings had awoken, and the four boys who were sent to kidnap me saw them."

"But, I gave you a drug to suppress it!" Uzumi says, a littlle hastily in his surprise, as he leant against the desk. "Didn't it work at all?"

"No. For the first 2 or 3 hours it might have, but that was before they even got to my flat to bring me to ZAFT."

"But the scientists of the EIVA organisation!" Uzumi cried, frustatedly. "They were so sure it would work! They spent a whole year developing that drug!"

"I know, Uncle," Cagalli says, somwhat calmer than he is. "But it didn't have any long term affects."

Uzumi sighs, rubbing his forhead. "But even so, didn't they take you to ZAFT anyway? Even if they saw your wings?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," Cagalli says seriously, her eyes hardening. "They disbanded the mission to capture me this morning. I don't know why, but it was very abrupt; they didn't even tell the boys how to deal with me."

"Even when you were conscious?" Kira asks suddenly. "They risked letting a civilian, let alone the niece of the Chief Representative leave openly, so that you could just tell anyone that you were kidnapped by ZAFT?"

"That's what I mean," Cagalli says, eyebrows furrowing. "It was very abrupt. The guys who kidnapped me were pretty pissed about it."

Uzumi sighs again. Nothing seemed to ever go right anymore.

"So now, we have no idea what they know or do not about EIVA?" Uzumi asks. He knows he is asking stupid questions, but that doesn't stop him from speaking.

Cagalli nods. "I'm pretty sure they don't know...I think they know about some kind of organization that you have, but they don't know what its specifically about. Thing is, now that those guys saw my wings...I don't know whether they will put some pieces together and figure out that EIVA is made for people like me."

"I highly doubt it," Kir says slowly. "I think it will take a while to sink in. They probably won't even believe themselves, let alone figure what EIVA is for."

"They don't even know that it is named EIVA, do they?" Uzumi asks worriedly.

"No, I don't think so," Cagalli says. "And its a confusing definition anyway; took me a while to get used to it myself. And I _am _an EIVA!"

EIVA meant both the organization that Uzumi had created, as well as what people with wings were called. They are both referred to it as EIVA(s); this was what Uzumi had called it. Like Cagalli had thought before, EIVAs are extremely rare; but they are not born as they are.

They are not born with wings.

They choose to attain them.

"Weird, since you were always a fast learner." Kira said, smiling. "Do you still remember the three laws of attaining EIVA wings?"

Cagalli scoffs. "Of course I do! Why would I forget something so important?"

"Because a couple of weeks ago, when I asked you, you said you 'couldn't bloody remember.'"

Cagalli glares at her brother. "Well, to be fair, I just got back from EIVA HQ, and it was 2:30am! I'm surprised I even remembered where my room was!"

"Well what are they, then?" Kira presses on, now for his own entertainment.

Cagalli growls. "_'An EIVA can only save one life when wings are attained.'_"

"Number two?"

"_'An EIVA can only attain wings in the hands of trauma and tainted bargain.'_"

"And number three?"

"_'An EIVA can access only one element.'_"

"Very good, Cagalli." Uzumi said with a smile. "It's good to know that you know the laws off by heart."

Cagalli smiled widely, blowing a raspberry at Kira childishly. "Told ya!"

But Uzmui sighs again, biting his lip. "What are we going to tell the other four EIVAs of the organization? They were hoping that we could work off of the information ZAFT has on us to think of ways to keep the organization even more of a secret."

"There's nothing we can do," Kira says, sighing also. "It wasn't anybody's fault that the mission failed."

"But now, I'm a bit concerened about these boys who kidnapped you," Uzumi said, turning to Cagalli. "Are you sure they wouldn't tell?"

"Doesn't matter if they did," Cagalli said evenly. "No-one will believe them."

But as they continued to discuss what to do next, and tried thinking of plans on the spot for keeping EIVA even more of a secret, Cagalli couldn't help but think of the boys who had kidnapped her; Athrun in particular.

She knew that some boy called Athrun and Kira had been friends since they were young, but grew apart when they were 13, and Athrun had joined the military. Was he the same Athrun? And if he was, how would she break it to Kira?

And Cagalli colours instantly.

Three years ago, had she kissed her brother's best friend?

Oh, Haumea; what had she done?

* * *

Review? :D

Stay tuned, and thanks for reading!

- Yin


	9. Chapter 7 'Hearts'

Before you start throwing rotten vegetables at me, I can explain for the horribly late update; revision. I have a MASSIVE french exam today, and I left revision 'till the last minute, so I spent the last two days revising. I wasn't even meant to be updating today, because today is the day of the test, but I sprained my ankle so badly in P.E. this morning from a big trampoline thing, that I had to go to hospital and bla bla bla...basically, I can't walk. At least not for the next 2 weeks.

But I can update! :D So please forgive me!

I tried making this chapter long for you...hope you enjoy!

And thanks so much for all the reviews...did you learn to be that amazing, or is it just instinct? :)

- Yin

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN GUNDAM SEED/GUNDAM SEED DESTINY

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**Hearts  
**

Athrun stirs grumpily, pulling his duvet covers over his head similarly to a couple of weeks ago; the contstant ringing of his phone is pushing him closer and closer to point of wanting to throw that stupid thing into the wall with every bit of strength he can possibly muster.

But his mother had taught him not to loose his temper over little things, and so for that reason alone, he stomps over to his phone, glaring with sleeping emerald eyes even as he roughly snatches it from its receiver and presses it to his ear.

"Hello?" He asks quite threateningly, teeth gritted.

"ZALA! WHY DIDN'T YOU ANSWER YOUR PHONE?" Yzak yells at him from the other line.

"Because I was asleep!" Athrun yells back. "Why are you phoning me anyway?"

"It's 6:45am! How could you be asleep? You're in the military, not a public school!"

"WHY DID YOU PHONE, YZAK?" Athrun yells, his patience waring thin. He was never a morning person.

"Idiot! Well...there's an urgent meeting. Commander Zala wants to see us himself. You were meant to be here fifteen minutes ago! He's gonna be here any minute! Didn't you get the message?"

"No..." Athrun says slowly, his navy eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "Why does he want to see us so suddenly? Do we have another mission?"

"I don't know," Yzak says seriously. "But I sure as hell know that this isn't any normal mission this time; that is, if we get assigned one."

"What do you mean?"

"Well...Commander Zala acted weird about this one. I don't know what he's up to...but I'm pretty sure we play a big part in it."

There is a pause, and Athrun's mind starts to wonder; would it have anything to do with their half completed mission that had gotten cancelled a little over two weeks ago? Is it something new entirely? And whatever it is, what do him and his team have to do with it?

Athrun ponders over any kind of reason his father might have for arranging a meeting on such short notice; he didn't even have time to check to see if he had any messages to do with a mission or a meeting.

Athrun swallows, as his mind starts to think of the worst possible reasons; will he have to go see Cagalli again? It couldn't be another mission regarding her, could it? And if it is, would it have anything to do with why their mission had come to such an abrupt hault? Would it have anything to do with her being an-

"Why have you gone silent? Damnit, Zala, you sure are up in the clouds! Get your ass out of bed and over to HQ NOW!"

The line goes dead, leaving Athrun lost in his thoughts.

* * *

_(Flashback Dream - Cagalli)_

_A ten year old Cagallli, happy and smiling, is cheerfully walking home; the world looks beautiful today. Spring is apparent, and the pale pink of innocent cherry blossoms follow her as she walks, dancing to a breeze that lightly grazes the young girl's skin. _

_But today, she is particularly happy; she got an A* in her English exam, and the world seemed to be smiling with her. Her mother had packed her her favourite lunch, and she actually had time to see her father this morning. _

_The only downside to this day, was that Kira had to stay home since he was ill; probably from the cookies she had made yesterday. She hadn't followed the recipe exactly, but Cagalli didn't really figure it as an issue. But obviously, since Kira threw up at the first bite, it was. _

_She laughed, remembering his face the previous day; even when her mother had scalded her for laughing at her nauseated brother, she had to work hard to keep the giggles in. Cagalli smiled, cherry blossoms now circling her feet. _

_She hoped that he was okay, and that she hadn't poisoned him to death. The simplest way her ten year old mind could put their relationship into words, was that Kira was the meat to her kebab. It just simply wouldn't _be _a kebab if there wasn't any meat in it. And that's just how she felt; she wouldn't be Cagalli if Kira wasn't there standing next to her with that contagious, goofy grin of his. _

_She reached the gate of her house, and she couldn't contain her excitement any longer; Kira had always been the one to be good at school. What with straight A's in maths and science, leaving Cagalli with the more artsy things, though she wasn't stupid at the other subjects; she just wasn't as good as her twin brother. _

_This was fine for her, since she was good at the things he lacked anyway; it was equal. And now, running down the thing path to her front door, she couldn't help but wonder what to ask her mother as a reward; ice cream or chocolate? _

_"Chocolate ice cream!" Cagalli thought, feeling proud of herself, realizing that she could combine the two. She laughed, opening the front door and shutting it hurriedly behind her as she stepped into the landing, her English exam gripped between her small fingers, her grin reaching from ear to ear.  
_

_"Mum! Dad! Kira!" She called, her laugh filling the strangely quiet house, as she ran to the living room. "You'll never guess what! I got an A* in my-" _

_Cagalli stopped dead at the entrance of her living room, the paper marked with an A* slipping from her fingers, floating gently until it touched the ground silently. Amber eyes were so wide that Cagalli was sure they would roll out of their sockets, as they filled with tears, and shook with trauma. _

_The bodies of her parents lay blood soaked on the living room floor. Her father's body was turned away, as if he didn't want to see her, a head wound at the back of his skull gaping and bleeding at the young blonde. Blood smeared his clothes, and his hair was drenched in crimson. _

_Her mother lay a little further away, her head turned to Cagalli, and she looked as though she were sleeping; but red layed heavily in patches on her stomach, and the gash in her abdomen was still bleeding. There were bloody smeared marks marring the soft skin of her neck, and her lips were parted, as if she was still screaming._

_Cagalli's body shook wildly in fear, amber eyes unable to blink the horrific sight away. She stumbled backwards, tripping as she did, fear enveloping her until there was nothing left but a quivering heart and a clouded young mind. _

_"M-mum...Da..." Cagalli murmured, but she could not finish, her eyes glued to the corpses, blurred with tears. _

_But the thing that scared Cagalli the most, was not her dead parents lying on the floor, soaking in a pool of their own blood; it was the fact that she was the only one alive in that room. That there was nobody else. There were no other hearts beating. _

_There were no other souls glowing. _

_A shaky cry escaped her throat, and panic ran through every cell in her body. She panted, and upon instinct she ran. Tripping up the stairs, her mind and heart unravelling as it lost its sanity, as she searched for the one person she cared the most about. The one person she couldn't live without. The one person she loved the most. The one person she could count on to protect her. _

_The one person who stood a chance of making it all better. _

_"KIRA!" the scream exploding from her throat, deafening her own ears. _

_It echoed for few seconds, and silence followed, and she didn't think that anything could be more painful within those 3.67 seconds. Her cheeks were now blotchy with tears, her eyes working over time to produce them, to keep up with the insanity they knew would shortly follow. _

_Cagalli couldn't stand it, and she shook her head viciously, painfully, as she stood on top of the stairs. _

_Had she just lost everything? _

_"KIRA!" the scream now louder, longer, erupted from her, so desperate that she herself wondered if it was her own voice. _

_She stumbled again, her body refusing to work properly, as she bombarded down the hallway to her brother's room, her heart pounding in her ears, her sobs of desperation and evident trauma filling the gaps of silence in the house. _

_She barged open his door violently, her breaths jagged and broken. _

_Much like her heart. _

_"KI-" She began, but she didn't need to. _

_Lying there, on the floor, Kira lay absolutely still, and she didn't have to touch his body to know that it was stone cold. The gash in his neck cut straight through her, and she fell to her knees. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think._

_She couldn't feel. _

_Amethyst eyes stared at her through mahogany brown bangs, with the ends dipped in crimson; empty, broken and apologetic. His mouth was parted, much like his mother, blood trailing down his chin. His arms lay out, his palms facing upwards, as if asking her to hold them.  
_

_And there was nothing there. _

_And there was...no more. _

_And Cagalli Yula Attha's heart screamed. _

_And so did she. _

_(End of Flashback Dream) _

Cagalli jolts upwards in her bed, panting. She is trembling again, she swings her legs out of bed, the cold sweat on her body pricking her skin. The hairs on the back of her neck stand up, and upon instinct, her eyes glaze over.

Containing her sobs, she curses inwardly; after having this dream so many times, you would think that at some point she would get used to it. You would think that after living it in real life, a dream would never have even half the impact.

She stands shakily, her mouth upturned, trying so hard to lock up these feelings she managed to do so well. Trying so hard to lock up tears that would never end. Clutching the frame of the door for support, Cagalli sucks in a shaky breath, before she continues to her destination.

She panics again, the need to know that her dear brother, her best friend was alive gnawing at her skin, her flesh, what was left of her heart. Her speed picks up, and before she knows it she is running, runninng full speed down the corridor.

She swallows the persistent lumps in her throat, and unintentionally lets out a whimper.

She bursts through into Kira's room a little too loudly, waking up the sleeping young boy in the process. Cagalli closes the door behind her firmly, using everything she has in her to contain what her body wants so much to let out.

"C-Cagalli?" Kira asks sleepily, rubbing his eyes.

He looks at his sister; her hair tousled messily, her face damp with tears. Her palms pressed against the door as her lip wobbled. She clamps a hand over her mouth as she sees him, sleepy and messy, and he thinks that he could almost _see_ her heart leap.

And his own heart promptly breaks at the sight of her.

"Kira!" She cries, throwing her arms around him."Y-you're...you're really..."

She clings to him, and her heart thinks it will burst; he is here, in her arms. He is here, in that ugly blue shirt he loves to sleep in. He is here, with that warm, sweet scent he's had all his life. He is here. Her brother was here with her.

His heart beating.

His soul glowing.

Kira's eyes moisten, as he wraps his arms around his sister's trembling body, as she cries onto his shoulder. He can feel the marred skin of of her scars on her back through the thin shirt she is wearing, and he clumsily lets tears escape his eyes.

"It's okay, Cagalli," He says softly into her ear, as she cries like a small child. "I'm here."

This just makes the young blonde cry harder, as she grips the back of his thin shirt. He rocks her comfortingly, tears gliding quickly down his tanned cheeks. Seeing Cagalli like this makes his heart break every time, because she doesn't deserve this. She doesn't deserve such mental and physical torture.

And he can do nothing about it.

Pulling her still trembling body into his bed, Kira pulls the duvet around both of them, just like he had done when they were children and there was a thunder storm outside. He holds the sobbing girl, rubbing her back soothingly until she has hiccuped herself to sleep.

Tears can't help but form in his eyes as he watches her sleep; her are cheeks glowing with a faint blush, her skin even more damp with tears, her blonde hair sticking to it and her eyebrows tense with fear and exhaustion.

He brushes a few strands of hair that stick to her face, stroking her hair.

He can't protect her.

Kira kisses her forehead gently, tears falling from his eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Cagalli."

* * *

Athrun is panting by the time he has reached ZAFT HQ. He stumbles into the room, spotting his irritated father and teammates saluting. His father glares at him, and Athrun hurries to comb his hair with his fingers and joins the line of his teammates, stating an apology and greeting as he too solutes.

His father glares at him, but dismisses the fact that his son is 30 minutes late, and starts his speech from the beginning. Even if he was harsh with Athrun, he was still his son. And Lenore had made him swear to do anything for him. At least he could follow her wishes.

"The reason why I've called you here today on such short notice, is that I have a very important mission for you," He says, pacing the length of them slowly. "But this is no ordinary mission. It is more long term, and will require a high amount of dedication."

The four boys' eyebrows furrow as they listen to their Commander. None of them know what to expect, nor how to react.

"Me and a few of the other Higher Commanders were talking while you were on your previous mission," He continues. "We decided that any kind of information of Uzumi's organisation couldn't be dragged out of by one person; especially if it is someone important to him, like his niece.

Thankfully, we disbanded the mission before you brought the girl here, and even now, we are sorry for the inconvenience. But we understand now that the best way to attain information must be done over a period of time."

"I'm sorry, Sir, but what is it that you're getting at?" Athrun blurts out. He immediatly regrets it, and apologizes, after recieving another glare from his father.

"What I'm saying," He says firmly. "Is that you are all being relocated to Orb for a minimum of 1 year."

* * *

OOOOOOOOOHHHH! They're moving to Orb! This is where things start to pick up...

Hate? Like? Love? ...Disgust? :P Review and tell me! :D

Stay tuned!

- Yin


	10. Chapter 8 'Ajdust'

**PLEASE READ THIS AUTHOR'S NOTE: **

Oh gosh...you all are probably going to hate me for this one.

In a couple of weeks, I won't be able to update for quite a long while...around a month. Since christmas is coming up, my ENTIRE family will be coming over. I don't know exactly how many, but its about a couple heards of sheep! I honestly have over 30 cousins alone. Not to mention all the aunties and uncles! They'll be staying for quite a while too. So, I won't be able to update for a few weeks because I seriously have NO time to go on my laptop. Don't worry though, I am _not _discontinuing this story! And this doesn't even start for a couple of weeks anyway...so until then, I'll try and get chapters up faster, but don't expect too much of me...

I hope you'll forgive me; as an apology, not only will I try to update faster with this story, but I write a few one shots to keep people satisfied. I've got a few ideas and am DYING to publish them! And I want to try and write an AsuCaga Christmas one shot too...I wanna see how that turns out. :)

I'm sorry sweeties...I hope you'll forgive me!

Hope you enjoy this chappie! Thanks for all the support so far!

- Yin

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN GUNDAM SEED/GUNDAM SEED DESTINY

* * *

**Adjust**

"RELOCATED?" Yzak cried, banging his fist on the table, making the plates jump. "What the hell is Zala thinking?"

"Yzak, keep your voice down!" Dearka hisses, clamping his hand down on the platinum blonde. "He only just left, dumbass! If he hears you, he'll have our heads!"

Yzak growls, swatting Dearka away. "But how can he expect us to move to Orb for at least a year? It's ridiculous!"

"Well, if you think about it, it's kinda necsasary," Nicol pitches in. "You can't just gain information over night from a massive secret organization controlled by one of Orb's most powerful leaders. It just took a little longer for us all to figure it out, I guess."

"But our whole lives are here!" Dearka cries. "We live here! We have friends here!"

"But we all put that on the line when we joined ZAFT," Athrun says in a cool voice, his mind blank. "This is what we signed up for. So how about you just suck it up and take it like the soldier you are trained to be?"

There was heavy pause, as Nicol, Dearka and Yzak's head turned to the surprisingly cool Athrun. They thought that he would be the most shaken and shocked by this, but obviously, he does a damn good job of not showing it.

Athrun wonders when he became such a good actor. The lies that fall out of his mouth is just as fast as the shock that runs through his body. He is leaving everything here; his home, his friends, his life, his memories of his mother.

Everything that had come together to create Athrun Zala was here, and now, it was all being taken away from him within a few seconds of hurried decisions. The Joule Team had never experinced a long term mission before; and Athrun was just starting to realize how much his life was being dictated by ZAFT.

Shaking his head, he straightens his posture. "Come on, we better leave. After all, we have a lot of packing up to do."

* * *

"Kira! Cagalli!"

The twins snap their heads from their breakfast, mouths full as they look up at their uncle in surprise. Since Uzumi would have meetings starting from the early morning, they would never see him apart from if something was urgent. And since it meant being a few minutes late for meetings, it really did mean urgent if Uzumi would barge in at breakfast.

"Yes, uncle?" the two ask in unison, eyebrows knitting together in worry.

"I didn't have time to alert EIVA about the mission of intruding ZAFT failing; you're going to have to tell them as soon as possible."

Cagalli groans, while Kira scratches his head and sighs.

"They're not going to be happy." Cagalli says in a grunt, stacking up her and Kira's plate of half finished food, ignoring his whines of protest.

"Of course not," Uzumi says in a hurry, approaching the door once again, turning back to smile at his niece and nephew one last time. "But it's not in our control."

With that, the door slams shut gently, and Cagalli and Kira make their way to the kitchen, where the secret passage way to the EIVA HQ stood. They bicker a little, mostly Kira just moaning about how he couldn't finish his breakfast, making Cagalli's temper flare slightly.

They approach the fridge that is backed against the tiled walls, continuing to bicker even as Kira presses the side of the fridge, making a touch screen surface on the front of the fridge unveal. He punches in a code, and the fridge turns to the side, revealing a glass sort of elevator, narrow and thin.

The two step in, their arguing never ceasing for a moment, whilst they are zooming downwards, the fridge turning back against the wall, closing the passageway automatically. They stop to a hault, as they reach the floor of the EIVA HQ.

It is exptremely large, and spans out through the underground of the entire mansion. What the twins step into is only the main hall of it all, though there are still a few scientists and the rest of the EIVAs talking in a corner and waltzing around lazily as the two step out of the elevator.

The walls and floor are protected by hard dark blue tiles, tough enough to bare the force if any of the EIVA's wings were to break out, or their tempers flare and their elements get out of hand. It always made Cagalli think of the night, being surrounded by dark blue everywhere; she really ought to talk to her uncle about that.

The other four EIVA's are talking in the corner of the room; Murrue Ramius, Mwu La Flaga, Ahmed Elfassi and Heine Westenfluss. Heine and Ahmed bicker as usual, similarly to Kira and Cagalli, while Murrue and Mwu sit in their own love struck gaze making the other three EIVA's just roll their eyes at.

Heine is the youngest EIVA among them, after only attaining his wings at a mere 7 months ago. He was only fragile 15 years old, though not as young as Cagalli when she herself had attained wings, still too young than preferable.

Murrue had gotten her own wings 2 years ago, and her partner Mwu being 3; they were he oldest within the EIVA group. And have been a couple for just over a year now. Thanks to some meddling that Cagalli and the other younger EIVA's, the two were now successfully a pair.

Ahmed had gotten his wings when was 12 years old, and was Cagalli's closest friend, other than her own brother, Kira. He was the first to get the group of the EIVA's rolling, the second member including Cagalli. When they were younger, Cagalli, Kira and Ahmed would get into all sorts of trouble together. Throughout all the EIVAs, Ahmed was the one that they had the longest history with.

And this left Cagalli; the oldest EIVA, receiving her wings at the ghastly age of just 10 years old.

And even to this day, everyone wonders how she copes.

"Cagalli?" Ahmed calls from accross the hall.

Everybody's heads, including the scientists', snap over to the young blonde, who sighs apologetically. "Hey, guys."

The EIVA's rush over to her, their shoes squeking against the navy floor. Confusion and worry taint their faces, as they crowed Cagalli and Kira, questions zooming through their minds, and the need for answers zooming just as fast.

"What happened?" Ahmed asks worriedly. "You were meant to be gone for a minimum of a month!"

Cagalli shakes her head. "The plan screwed up."

"What, didn't they take you straight to ZAFT?" Murrue asks, scratching her brunette hair. "Where else would they have taken you?"

"No, it was nothing like that..." Cagalli says, sighing. "My wings broke out, and since they've gotten so big now, they completely wrecked the van me and the ZAFT guys were travelling."

"Oh, shit!" Mwu curses lazily, making Murrue hit his arm, and scold him for using bad language.

"But still, how..." Heine trails off, completely puzzled.

"Since we had no form of transport, and were stuck in the middle of the woods, with me and them covered in blood...we had to walk to a motel, and by morning, when they were planning to call up ZAFT HQ, their boss told them to call it quits, and disbanded their mission."

"_What?" _Ahmed cries. "They disbanded the mission? You mean...now we have no idea what ZAFT does and does not know about us?"

"Yeah..." Kira says, offering a reassuring smile. "But it's okay. It's not the end of the world, I guess!"

"What are talking about, kid?" Mwu says frustratedly. "Now we don't know what they know! If we don't know what they know, how are we supposed to know how stop ourselves and EIVA getting revealed?"

"And didn't the drug have any affect on you?" Murrue asks, her eyebrows knitting together.

"Well, I was only given that drug a few hours before the ZAFT assassins came, so it might have worked then, but that wasn't anywhere near long enough." Cagalli explains calmly.

"But we spent ages on that drug!" A scientist cries. "The affects were meant to be long term! How could they not work?"

"Well how am I supposed to know?" Cagalli cries back. "This is a trial and error situation! You shouldn't get your hopes high and expect your drug to work perfectly! You've got to remember that our DNA is not 100% human anymore!"

"Oh, Haumea..." The scientist says under his breath, scurrying off.

"So what are we supposed to do now?" Heine asks gently.

"I really don't know...ZAFT is still a big problem here." Cagalli says with apologetic eyes.

"But we can't give up hope yet," Kira says firmly. "It's not going to be easy, but finding out ZAFT's information on us will just need some more thinking."

At that moment, Kira's mobile rings, and he excuses himself to take the call, while Cagalli tries to calm down the rest of the EIVAs. He expects the call to be from Lacus, and so works a little over time to get a signal from the underground HQ.

"H-Hello?" Kira says finally, balancing on a chair.

"Kira?" the voice says. "Is that you?"

Kira's heart skips a beat, and he promptly and painfully falls off his chair.

"_ATHRUN?_"

* * *

Oh gosh...I am so sorry it took me so long to update.

I hate to tell you all this, but the next chapter will be delayed for quite some time too; reasons for it is in the Author's Note above.

Please bare with me, and I apologize again.

Stay tuned! And thanks again for all the support!

- Yin


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